Rural Life

Activist Agriculture

Activist Agriculture Digital Exhibit

Farmers and farm workers in Iowa and the Midwest took organized actions to protect their livelihood and well-being. This exhibit documents agricultural activism from 1929-1969, focusing on four specific events.

49 documents.

Davidson, Jay Brownlee (J. B.)

Jay Brownlee Davidson Papers

The first head of the department, Davidson transformed agricultural engineering from a supplemental engineering program into a full four-year curriculum. Included are several scrapbooks of his travels oversea.

132 documents.

Hortense Butler Heywood Papers

Hortense Butler Heywood Papers

Contains biographical information, college papers, course notes, photographs, specimen drawings, correspondence, reports, articles, book reports, scientific correspondence and articles, and glass specimen slides.

204 documents; undated, 1894-1970.

Pascal, Descartes

Descartes Pascal

Descartes Pascal digital collection contains glass plate negatives depicting life at the turn of the twentieth century in Iowa.

30 images.

Underwood, Sarah

Sarah Underwood

Sarah Underwood’s letters vividly describe her experiences and observations when the family farmed in eastern Iowa during the 1850s & 1860s. Included are letters before their move to Iowa and after their return to Rhode Island.

92 letters, includes one image and pressed flower document.