| Territory of Iowa | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organized incorporated territory of the United States | |||||||||
| 1838–1846 | |||||||||
 Territorial seal | |||||||||
 The territory that did not become the state of Iowa in 1846 became unorganized territory. The government for this area would become organized as part of theMinnesota Territory in 1849. | |||||||||
| Capital | Burlington (1838–1841) Iowa City (1841–1849) | ||||||||
| Government | |||||||||
| • Type | Organized incorporated territory | ||||||||
| Governor | |||||||||
• 1838–1841 | Robert Lucas | ||||||||
• 1841–1845 | John Chambers | ||||||||
• 1845–1849 | James Clarke | ||||||||
| Legislature | Iowa Legislative Assembly | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Organized fromWisconsin Territory | 4 July 1838 | ||||||||
| 28 December 1846 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
TheTerritory of Iowa was anorganized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1838,[1] until December 28, 1846, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to theUnion as the state ofIowa. The remainder of the territory would have no organized territorial government until theMinnesota Territory was organized on March 3, 1849.
Most of the area in the territory was originally part of theLouisiana Purchase and was a part of theMissouri Territory. WhenMissouri became a state in 1821, this area (along withthe Dakotas) effectively becameunorganized territory. The area was closed to white settlers until the 1830s, after theBlack Hawk War ended. It was attached to theMichigan Territory on June 28, 1834. At an extra session of the Sixth Legislative Assembly of Michigan held in September, 1834, the Iowa District was divided into two counties by running a line due west from the lower end ofRock Island in theMississippi River. The territory north of this line (which started just south of the present-dayDavenport) was named Dubuque County, and all south of it was Des Moines County. WhenMichigan became a state in 1836 the area became theIowa District of westernWisconsin Territory—the region west of theMississippi River.
The original boundaries of the territory, as established in 1838, includedMinnesota and parts ofthe Dakotas, covering about 194,000 square miles (500,000 km2) of land.
Burlington was the provisional capital;Iowa City was designated as the official territorial capital in 1841.[2]Fort Snelling was located on the western side of the Mississippi placing it within the Territory until statehood.
When Iowa became a state on December 28, 1846, no provision was made for official organization of the remainder of the territory.[3]Morgan L. Martin, the Wisconsin territorial delegate to congress, pushed through a bill to organize a territory of Minnesota which would encompass this land. While the bill passed in the House, it did not pass the Senate. In the following session a bill byStephen A. Douglas was introduced in the Senate but also did not pass. The situation was resolved whenMinnesota Territory was organized on March 3, 1849, the day before the close of congress.[4]
In the1840 United States census,18 counties in the Iowa Territory reported the following population counts:[5]
| Rank | County | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Van Buren | 6,146 |
| 2 | Lee | 6,093 |
| 3 | Des Moines | 5,577 |
| 4 | Henry | 3,772 |
| 5 | Dubuque | 3,059 |
| 6 | Jefferson | 2,773 |
| 7 | Muscatine | 1,942 |
| 8 | Louisa | 1,927 |
| 9 | Washington | 1,594 |
| 10 | Johnson | 1,491 |
| 11 | Jackson | 1,411 |
| 12 | Linn | 1,373 |
| 13 | Cedar | 1,253 |
| 14 | Scott | 1,240 |
| 15 | Clayton | 1,101 |
| 16 | Clinton | 821 |
| 17 | Jones | 471 |
| 18 | Delaware | 168 |
| Unincorporated | 900 | |
| Iowa Territory | 43,112 |
The executive powers of the Territory were vested in a Governor, a Secretary (who in case of the death, removal, resignation, or absence from the Territory of the Governor had gubernatorial powers and would perform gubernatorial duties), a Treasurer and an Auditor.
Territorial officers of Iowa Territory from 1838 to 1846.[6]
Legislative powers were vested in aTerritory of Iowa Legislative Assembly, which like that of Wisconsin Territory was divided into anupper house called the "Council" (although some legislative histories refer to the Council as the Senate) of 13 members, and a House of Representatives of 26.[7]
