1889 – Eva Emery Dye – Romancing The Iowa City Story.

Eva Emery Dye was a well-known American writer, a historian, and a prominent member of the women’s suffrage movement at the turn-of-the-century. As the author of several historical novels, fictional – yet thoroughly researched – Dye is credited with “romanticizing the historic West, turning it into a poetic epic of expanding civilization.”

Her best known work – The Conquest: The True Story of Lewis & Clark (1902) – is remembered today for its role in transforming an obscure Shoshone woman named Sacajawea into a national heroine. But, long before Eva Emery Dye began writing about Lewis & Clark and their exploration of the American West, she was a locally-recognized, poet & writer here in the Heartland.

Born **Evangeline Lucinda Emery** in **Prophetstown, Illinois** on **July 17, 1855** to Cyrus and Caroline (Trafton) Emery, Eva began writing poetry at the age of eight, and was published at age fifteen when her poem “Dreamland” appeared in the local Prophetstown Spike. Before long, her poetry and prose – written under the pseudonym, **Jennie Juniper**, began to garner attention outside of Whiteside County. In the May 26, 1877 edition of the Prairie Farmer – published in Chicago – the editor proclaimed: “Prophetstown has a poetess who rejoices in the name of ‘Jennie Juniper.’ Her writings, it is said, betray a genuine spirit of poesy.” Soon, other poems began appearing in public – first in the Chicago-based Inter Ocean – and then in other more prominent Midwestern publications.

In a strong desire to further her writing abilities, Eva enrolled at Oberlin College in Ohio, against the wishes of her father, teaching school, part-time, to pay for her own tuition. At Oberlin, she majored in Greek and Literature, and served as literary editor of the Oberlin Review, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1882. Shortly afterward, Eva married an Oberlin classmate – **Charles Henry Dye**, moving to his home in **Sidney, Iowa** – where they both taught school for a short season before relocating to Franklin, Nebraska.

In **1888**, the Dye’s returned to Iowa, moving to Iowa City, where Charles completed his degree from the **SUI Law School** while Eva resumed her studies – receiving her Master’s degree in Literature in 1889. That same year, Charles was admitted to the bar, and decided to open a law office in Madison, South Dakota, where the Dye family spent the following winter. It was during this short season in Iowa City (1888-1889), when Eva wrote the article we are sharing with you on this page. More on that later.

By the summer of 1890, the Dyes were on the move again – this time, relocating to Oregon City, Oregon – where, once more, Charles opened a law office, while Eva returned to teaching. Along with caring for their four children and giving increased time to her historical research and writing, Eva also became actively involved in the women’s suffrage movement. In 1896, she was appointed Clackamas County Chair of the Equal Suffrage Association – a position she held until suffrage victory in Oregon in 1912. Dye also served as president of the Oregon City Woman’s Club, and was was awarded an honorary Doctorate degree in Literature from Oregon State College in 1930, and an honorary Doctorate of Law degree from the University of Portland in 1939.

So now – on to our Iowa City story – written by the poetic historian – Eva Emery Day…

**The Magazine of American History** was established as a monthly journal, and had its beginnings in **January 1877** with the long title **The Magazine of American History with Notes and Queries**. In addition to the scholarly articles and answers to readers’ queries, the magazine also included the contents of many original documents – such as the letters of George Washington and diary extracts from various Revolutionary War figures – illustrations, and several pages of ads (see below).

Subscribers would receive their monthly copy in the mail, and after most six month periods (January-June & July-December), a hard-copy volume containing the last six issues would be produced and sold individually. Each monthly issue contained about 80 pages, so it wasn’t unusual for the hard copy volumes to have nearly 500 pages!

*Over the forty year run (minus an eight year hiatus between 1893 and 1901), there were 46 hard-copy volumes produced, with the publication finally closing up shop in 1917.*

As we discussed earlier – between 1888 and 1889, Eva Emery Dye lived in Iowa City. While her husband – Charles – studied law at SUI, and Eva worked on her Masters degree in Literature, one of the articles she wrote – and then successfully submitted to The Magazine of American History – was her 13-page paper, which, in June 1889 became…

**The Historic Capital Of Iowa** – Below, you will find all 13 pages of Eva Emery Dye’s romantic re-telling of the Iowa City Story – 1839 to 1857. From May 4, 1839 when Chauncey Swan marked the location of Old Capitol – to the wintry month of December 1857 – when the last ox cart left the state capitol building on Capitol Square on its way to the new Iowa capital city of Des Moines, Dye tells many of the famous – and infamous – stories from the first eighteen years of Iowa City’s existence – in a way that only a poetic historian can. Note that we’ll make a few select comments at the bottom of each page, adding some links along the way where you can read more on each topic. Enjoy this poetic read by **Eva Emery Dye**…

Iowa City’s first day! **May 4, 1839** – Territorial Commissioner Chauncey Swan and his small party pound a wooden stake into the ground – marking where the new Iowa capitol building will rise. Read more here.

Here, Dye speaks of several **Iowa City “firsts”** such as “**Leanback Hall**” – built to accommodate the flood of pioneers who came into town for the first land auction on **August 19, 1839** – and the first court proceedings – held at **John Gilbert’s Trading Post on May 13, 1839**. Read more “firsts” here.

**Iowa Territorial Governor Robert Lucas** arrived in Burlington, Iowa by steamboat on **August 15, 1838**. The former governor of Ohio, Lucas had a strong vision for this new U.S. Territory – with one of his most controversial decisions being to move the governmental system away from existing cities on the Mississippi River, developing a whole new, centrally-located capital that was to be called – *Iowa C*ity. *Read more here.*

**July 4th, 1840** – the laying of the cornerstone of Iowa’s new capitol building. Actually, there were two consecutive **Independence Day celebrations** held where Old Capitol stands today – 1839 and 1840. Both have been written about by Iowa City historians and each have been described as being quite colorful and memorable. Read more here.

**December 6, 1841** – Iowa City, Iowa. The **opening day of the Fourth Legislative Assembly of Iowa Territory**. Many thought this day might never occur, and quite honestly, there were some Iowa politicians – including the new governor John Chambers – who hated Lucas’ idea of moving the capital to Iowa City. If it hadn’t been for the generous spirit of Iowa City pioneer – **Walter Butler** – who took it upon himself to build a temporary capitol building to house the 1841-42 Legislative session – the whole building project on the new capitol building just might have ground to a halt. Read more here. As for John Chambers and his administration (1841-45) – certainly not a leader Iowans can be proud of. Nuff said.

Three entertaining Iowa City stories are introduced here on this page: 1) the steamboat era kicks off on **June 20, 1841** when **The Ripple** – under the command of Captain Dan Jones – comes chugging into town. Read the full story here. 2) **Mechanics Academy** has a rich history in Iowa City – first serving as a school house, and then – in 1855 – becoming the first home for the State University of Iowa. Read more here. And, oh yes, you must read about Iowa City’s literary nickname – **The Athens of Iowa**. 3) Finally, in the late summer of 1849, one very frustrated – and defrocked – **Rev. Michael Hummer** made quite the scene in an attempt to recover – what he believed to be – **the church bell hanging in belfry of North Presbyterian Church**. You gotta read it to believe it!

*Yup, the Hummer’s Bell story captures a lot of attention in Iowa City history. But wait! There are other bells in our fair city that pack some pretty good stories as well. Read them here.*

You just can’t tell stories about the early days of Iowa City without giving several pages to the coming of the railroad. Let’s start here with the completion of the **Mississippi & Missouri Railroad** tracks into Iowa City on **December 31, 1855**. *Then, you might want to read about the big city-wide **Grand Railroad Festival** held three days later – on **January 3, 1856**. Read more here.*

Iowa became the 29th state in the Union on **December 28, 1846**. But, did you know that the drive for U.S. statehood actually began in Iowa City in 1844 with the first constitutional convention? The effort failed, and you can read why here.

Here, Dye introduces us to two key political figures who helped change American history. **James Harlan** – who started out as a school principal in Iowa City – ended up as one of Iowa’s most influential U.S. Senators. Read more here. Then, there was **Samuel Kirkwood** – a.k.a. Dusty Miller – who took the state by storm – becoming Iowa’s Civil War governor. This common-sense, straight-shooter managed his brother-in-law’s flour mill in Coralville, and within a few short years became one of President Lincoln’s closest comrades. Read more here.

Dye finishes up her article covering a good portion of **Governor Kirkwood**‘s story. Strong abolitionists, Samuel & Jane Kirkwood were supporters of The Underground Railroad throughout Iowa. Read more here.

The **Kirkwood and Lucas homes** were both pictured in Dye’s article – rare photographs of these two classic residences in Iowa City. Both still stand today – the Kirkwood home at **1101 Kirkwood Avenue**, and of course, the Lucas home – **1030 Carroll Street** – *is now part of the State Historical Site – **Plum Grove**.* *Click here to read about Iowa City’s oldest homes that are still with us today.*

**Eva Emery Dye** ends her Iowa City story with a brief mention of the transition of the state capital – from Iowa City to Des Moines – completed in **December 1857**. Read more here.

*Sadly, the sources for the artwork and photographs used in Eva Emery Dye’s 1889 article were not identified.*

It was customary for the author of the “lead” article in each edition of the Magazine of American History to end their article with their signature. Here, in closing, is the signature of Eva Emery Dye – who, in 1889 – lived in Iowa City and wrote for us – one unique her-story of Iowa City…