Report of the Governmental Reorganization Commission to Governor William S. Beardsley for Submission to the Fifty-fourth General Assembly,1950

This report deals with the reorganization of the government of Iowa. The Fifty-third General Assembly established and authorized this commission to examine and recommend changes in all state agencies in order to accomplish the following purposes : a reduction of expenditures and the promotion of economies; an increase in efficiency of governmental operations; a coordination and consolidation of judicial districts; a reduction of agencies by a consolidation of those having similar functions; and an elimination of overlappoing and duplicating of efforts on the part of existing agencies.

The Robert Lucas journal of the war of 1812 during the campaign under General William Hall,1906.

Journal of Iowa Territorial Governor Robert Lucas on the Hall campaign which was to march to Detroit and commence a conquest of Canada. This journal is edited by John c. Parish.

Inauguration of the state capitol at Des Moines, Iowa : address delivered before the twentieth General Assembly by Hon. John A. Kasson, upon the invitation of the governor and General Assembly, January 17, 1884.

This brochure is the printed copy of the speech made by Hon. John A. Kasson to the Twentieth General Assembly for the Inauguration of the Iowa State Capitol

The Robert Lucas Journal of the War of 1812 During the Campaign Under General William Hall,1906

This book is a reprint from the handwritten notes of Robert Lucas, first Governor of Iowa Territory from 1838 to 1841, written while he was in camp and on the march in the War of 1812 from the dates of April to September 1812.

Memorial exercises in honor of William Boyd Allison : in Hall of House of Representatives, State Capitol, Des Moines, Iowa, Tuesday, September 8, 1908

Program of the memorial in honor of William Boyd Allison, senior Senator of the State of Iowa, who died at his home in Dubuque, Iowa, August 4, 1908. It includes full text of remarks presented at the memorial by dignitaries in attendance.

The Iowa State Capitol Grounds 1913 Extension and Reconstruction Project, October 2012

The Capitol grounds have been evolving through planned and unplanned actions for more than 150 years. The 1857 Constitutio established Des Moines as the capital. The commissioners appointed to choose a site decided on land donated by Wilson Alexander Scott and Harrison Lyon. Located on the east side of the Des Moines River, on a gently rising hill, the site for the Iowa State Capitol began with fewer than 10 acres. The Old Brick Capitol was built in the center of that 10-acre plot, and the area to the north was used as a public park until work began on the present day Capitol. In 1884, the two-year process of moving from the Old Brick Capitol to the new Capitol began. The state commissioned John Weidenman to design the first formal decoration of the grounds. Weidenman’s plans for the west approach to the Capitol included planting statues, and walkways. The State held some additional land but not necessarily land adjacent to the Capitol. In 1909, legislation was passed, and in 1913, the Thirty-Fifth General Assembly enacted controversial legislation to acquire additional land. A commission was formed to locate a purposed monument honoring the long-serving U.S. Senator William B. Allison. E.L. Masqueray was hired as the architect expert focusing on the selection of a proper site for the proposed Allison Memorial. Masqueray’s plan detailed the placement of buildings and potential monuments. Growth of the Capitol Complex, as known today, began.