February 1, 1806 – Zebulon M. Pike reaches Leech Lake and erroneously describes it as source of the Mississippi River.

When most folks hear the name Zebulon Pike, their thoughts generally take them to the Rocky Mountains and one of the best-known mountain tops in Colorful Colorado: Pikes Peak – just west of Colorado Springs. But when you dig deeper into the story of Zebulon Pike, you’ll find that there’s another Pikes Peak – an earlier one – located right here in the Hawkeye State.

A Day-by-Day Calendar of Historical Events In Iowa, William J. Petersen, State Historical Society of Iowa, 1946, p 17

READ MORE ABOUT THIS IOWA STORY HERE

---

This Day In History is an Our Iowa Heritage blog series that offers you a little bit of Iowa trivia from a large selection of stories on our website. Subscribe to this FREE blog and you’ll get a new email from us daily.

Join us for Our Iowa Heritage blog posts.

Learn some historical facts about Iowa City, Johnson County, or Eastern Iowa.

Amaze your friends.

Click to learn more.

Click here to go on to the next date…