If you’re a fan of fiction, one of the things you’ve already discovered is that it doesn’t have to match reality. In fact, that’s often what we love most about it! But every so often, something will happen in real life that is such an unbelievable part of history that it beats anything you can find in a novel. This seems to be especially true of Iowa around the turn of the 20th century.
1. Lost in Translation – Villisca
Once upon a time, in 1872, a new town was established in Iowa. It was named “Villisca,” after the Sac and Fox word “waliska.” Why was this word chosen? Because those who founded the town thought this word meant “pretty place,” and the area was beautiful. However, the word “waliska” actually means “evil spirit” or “Satan.” Somewhat fittingly, today, Villisca isn’t known for its scenery—it’s known for the gruesome, never-been-solved ax murder that happened here in 1912.
2. Weddings by the Pound – Council Bluffs
A few years later (around 1879), in Council Bluffs, Iowa, a clergyman gained some notoriety for his method of marrying couples who came to him wanting to be wed. It wasn’t how he married them that was so unusual; it was how he billed the couple for officiating their ceremony. The rate was 4 cents per pound for the groom and 2 cents per pound for the bride, which we can imagine only added to the couple’s pre-wedding jitters!
3. Massive Meteorite – Estherville
Also in 1879, the largest observed meteorite ever to hit North America fell to Earth in Estherville, Iowa. It weighed all of 455 pounds and plowed 15 feet into the ground. The people who saw it must have believed the sky really was falling in Estherville that day.
4. Runaway Artesian Well – Belle Plaine
In 1886, a well was drilled in Belle Plaine, but it turned out to be no ordinary well. It was a massive artesian well under high pressure, earning the nickname “Jumbo” (after the famous Barnum’s Greatest Show on Earth elephant). Here’s why: The water pressure was so strong that the well spontaneously shot water five feet into the air. And not just a little water—up to 50,000 gallons per minute. Belle Plaine flooded, and it took the town over a year to figure out how to tame this rogue well.
5. The Exploding Duck – Des Moines
Although it happened much too long ago to confirm, a local story about a duck in Des Moines was widely circulated in Iowa newspapers in 1910. According to the story, this pet duck escaped from its enclosure and feasted on a pan of yeast sitting out on the bird’s owner’s back steps. Unfortunately for the duck, the yeast did not settle well; in fact, it produced so much gas in the poor duck’s belly that the bird exploded. Unfortunately for the owner, that’s not even the worst part. When the duck exploded, the concerned owner took a flying bone fragment to the eye. He never saw out of that eye again.
6. The Double-Bottomed Lamb – Maquoketa
Speaking of unbelievable animals, the Jackson County Historical Society is in possession of the most unique lamb ever to be born in Iowa. This lamb, which has been taxidermied for posterity, has two hind ends. That’s right, it’s a double-bottomed sheep. See it to believe it: stop by the Jackson County Historical Society in Maquoketa.
What other unbelievable Iowa history have you heard tell of? We’d love to know about them. Here are a few more things you won’t learn about Iowa from history books.
Are you ready to book your next adventure in the Hawkeye State? Head over to Only In Your State’s itinerary planner for some inspiration…