Iowa Territory: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

Iowa Territory was an organized territory of the United States from July 4, 1838 until December 28, 1846 when it became Iowa, the 29th state.

Most of the area comprising the territory was originally part of the Louisiana Purchase and was a part of the Missouri Territory. When Missouri became a state in 1821, this area (along with the Dakotas) effectively became unorganized territory. The area was closed to white settlers until the 1830s, after the Black Hawk War ended. It was attached to the Michigan Territory on June 28, 1834, and was split off with the Wisconsin Territory in 1836 when Michigan became a state.

The Iowa Territory was the "Iowa District" of western Wisconsin Territory--the region west of the Mississippi River. The original boundaries of the territory, as established in 1838, included Minnesota and parts of the Dakotas.

Burlington was the stop-gap capital; Iowa City was designated as the official territorial capital in 1847.

Governors of Iowa Territory

• Robert Lucas appointed 1838.
• John Chambers appointed 1841.
• James Clarke appointed November, 1845.

Secretaries of Iowa Territory

• William B. Conway, appointed 1838; died in office, November, 1839.
• James Clarke, appointed 1839.
• O.H. W. Stull, appointed 1841.
• Samuel J. Burr, appointed 1843.
• Jesse Williams, appointed 1845.

Congressional Delegates

• William Williams Chapman 25th and 26th Congresses
• Francis Gehon, elected in 1839, but apparently never served as Delegate
• Augustus C. Dodge, in the 27th, 28th and 29th Congresses.