Atlantic - Iowa - History

The Paleo-Indian period in North America dates to about 9,500-7,500 B.C. Paleo-Indians in Iowa encountered vastly different environments than those of the recent past. The climate was cooler and wetter than present averages. In north central Iowa, Paleo-Indians lived in recently deglaciated land scapes covered by boreal and conifer-hardwood forests, shifting through time to elm- and oak- dominated woodlands. Woodlands predominated in most of the state as well, and prairie, if present, was very limited.

The Early Archaic period (7,500-5,500 B.C.) is viewed as a somewhat transitional period between cultures relying on big game for subsistence and those with a more rounded forager adaptation. Environments changed relatively quickly, as deciduous woodlands, mixed with prairies in western areas, became established over most of the state. Populations probably depended on bison in western Iowa and on deer and elk in eastern Iowa. These large mammals were supplemented by smaller game and by increasing use of plant foods. Settlement types included somewhat permanent base camps and seasonally occupied resource procurement camps. Excavated sites, such as the Cherokee Sewer site, suggest local populations were small and that they were tied to a seasonal round of resource exploitation. Representative artefacts include medium to large spear points, often with serrated and bevelled blade edges.

The Middle Archaic period (5,500-2,500 B.C.) is so poorly known in Iowa that it has normally been lumped with the Early Archaic. Cultural adaptations may have been similar, but environmental conditions became increasingly arid throughout the period. The Middle Archaic period corresponds to the warmest and driest postglacial period, commonly referred to as the Atlantic episode, or the Hypsithermal. Human populations throughout the Midwest gravitated to the wetter river valleys, and because of this, Middle Archaic sites are often deeply buried and difficult to locate. During the Hypsithermal, great masses of silt filled river valleys, and alluvial fan development was rapid. Many Middle Archaic sites are buried in these alluvial sediments.

By the Late Archaic period (2,500-500 B.C.) the Midwest was becoming a fairly crowded place with the incidence of intergroup encounter rising sharply. This situation resulted in similar subsistence strategies over broad areas, but also in increased territoriality, local differentiation in artefact styles, and development of intergroup trading networks. The end of the dry Hypsithermal resulted in increased stability of the resource base and made many previously unsuitable areas attractive for settlement. Population levels appear to have increased substantially, and a somewhat sedentary life way as well as construction of large ossuary's (multiple-interment cemeteries) are documented for this period. The use of communal cemeteries reinforces the interpretation that populations were becoming more sedentary. The Woodland tradition (500 B.C.-A.D. 1000) was characterized by improved technologies, such as ceramic production and horticulture, leading to an overall increase in productive efficiency, and by the construction of burial mounds. Although these characteristics originated during the Archaic, only after 500 B.C. did they come together and become adopted over a wide area

Several Oneota sites in north-eastern and north-western Iowa bridge the prehistoric and historic eras (A.D. 1640-1700). Early French trade goods such as glass beads, finger rings, and gunflints are found at sites dominated by native-made material. In Iowa the term "protohistoric'' denotes this period, when European goods were arriving and other influences were felt but before European peoples started to make extensive written records of the area.

Indian groups residing in or using portions of Iowa seasonally in protohistory times included the Iowa, Oto, Omaha, perhaps the Missouri, and the Middle and Eastern Dakota. These groups were essentially sedentary, but elements of their populations made wide-ranging seasonal forays for hunting and warfare.

After around 1650, European competition for tribal alliances and trade, and European diseases, drastically changed the structure of and relationships among Indian groups. Tribal population declined and white dispossession of traditional territories became common. In Iowa, the tribes mentioned above gave way to Great Lakes groups including the Sauk, Mesquakie (Fox), Winnebago, and Potawatomi. Perhaps the best known of these groups among Iowans is the Mesquakie.

Iowa's Cooperative Extension Service provides the link by which the results of research conducted at Iowa's Land Grant University are made available to those who have uses for the information. The concept of extension is not something that just happened, but rather was a logical step in a series of uniquely American contributions to education.

Very early it became obvious to our forefathers that if our "experiment with democracy" was to succeed, there was need for an informed and educated citizenry. For people to be involved in the governmental decision making process, they needed to be able to read, write, and communicate. Early on came the concept of free universal primary education. This was a radical concept, quite at variance with the more traditional approach of Europe where only the privileged were educated. By the mid-1800s. a movement was well underway to create colleges for the education of the "sons and daughters of the working classes." This movement resulted in legislation in 1862 creating the Land Grant College System. Iowa was the first state to accept the provisions of the law for its frontier college in Ames, Iowa. The original legislation made annual allocation of funds to support the colleges, provided funding for colleges for black students, and made the system available to new states joining the union.

The first school in Atlantic, a private one, was started in 1869 by Miss Belle Tiffany at Fifth and Walnut. In the spring of 1870, Miss Mary Dickerson, Miss Fanny Whittam, and D.W. Scribner opened private schools in Atlantic.

The first public school in Atlantic was located over a grocery store at Forth and Walnut Streets. Mr. Stribling was in charge, assisted by two others. In 1871, a new public school building was erected on the site of the present Lincoln Grade School building. This building had three rooms, two on the first floor and one on the second. In 1872, the school board purchased lots in 69 for $500 as a site for a new school.