Many settlers were surprised to discover how devoid of trees the central and northwestern areas of Iowa were. In eastern and central Iowa, enough trees were available to build cabins, but not enough for fuel. As one Iowan noted in her diary, "Water and timber were considered very essential."(8) In northwest Iowa, houses had to be constructed of sod. The prairie lands of Iowa were very different than many settlers, especially those from heavily wooded areas, were used too. They quickly discovered new hardships to prairie living that didn't exist in areas more abundant with trees and people. These difficulties lessened as more settlers arrived and as they began adapting to the land. By 1860, most of the state had been settled and pioneers no longer lived in isolation.


Border Disputes and Statehoood

          Some people in Iowa were ready for statehood long before it was achieved. The call for a constitutional convention was first made in 1839, then again in 1840, and again in 1842, but were all voted down. Finally in 1844 the Territorial Assembly passed the bill for a convention. The convention was held and a constitution created, but boundary disputes in both the north and the south caused major problems. In 1839, Governor Lucas recommended that Iowa's northern boundary run from the mouth of the Big Sioux River where it emptied into the Missouri and continued along the St. Peters (Minnesota) River) and down until it collided with the Mississippi River.(9) Known as the Lucas Boundaries, they encompassed present-day Iowa and parts of Minnesota. In 1843, a report by Joseph N. Nicollet, a French-born geographer and explorer, created a hypothesis for a different border that cut in more to the west and south, creating a smaller area. These differing boundaries were in competition when Iowa petitioned for statehood. The convention's committee on boundaries adopted the Lucas Boundaries in 1844, but upon admission to statehood, the House of Representatives chose the Nicollet Boundaries. The Senate passed the bill, and President John Tyler signed the act admitting Iowa into the Union on March 3rd, 1845. Citizens of Iowa did not agree with the Nicollet Boundaries and rejected statehood until the boundaries could be agreed on. A new constitution was drafted in 1846 and was accepted by the citizens. Iowa officially became a state in December of that year.

          Yet another border dispute, this time in the south, plagued Missouri from 1839 to 1850. Congress had established the southern border of Iowa to run through the rapids of the River Des Moines, but Missouri speculators determined that the line was ten miles further north. Missouri settlers soon moved in and took up the land, which was home to valuable trees where bees deposited their honey.(10) Troubles began when Sandy Gregory, sheriff of Clark County, Missouri, entered the area to collect taxes. A group of Iowans kidnapped the sheriff and held him prisoner. Locals retaliated by cutting down some of the honey trees. The citizens of Iowa and Missouri became furious, and both called up their militias. In August of 1839, Iowa's army of 1,200 men marched towards the border. The Missouri Militia followed suit, and both sat waiting for a call to battle that never came. Nobody fought, but political battles continued over the boundary until the United States Supreme Court established the border at the junction of the Des Moines and Mississippi rivers. Iowa kept the bee trees and the Honey War, which wasn't actually much of a war at all, came to an end in 1850. Iowa's borders were finally secured.

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