Despite the peaceful sounding phrase "town-gown" relations, the relationship between universities and their surrounding region (town or otherwise) have often been fractious. The St. Scholastica Riot of 1355 pitted the townspeople of Oxford against a few young scholars from the University of Oxford, and it was a matter that was not forgotten for four centuries. Happily, the residents of Iowa City...
Lovers of all things historical, a number of us at the Scout Report could not get enough of the Iowa Maps Digital Collection. As the second-most shared resource this past year, it's clear that our readers enjoyed it too! The Iowa Digital Library allows interested parties to whiz through years of Iowa history, even providing a clickable map of specific counties. The site impressed us with its...
The Poweshiek History Preservation Project is a joint effort between the Grinnell College Libraries and the Drake Community Library to preserve the history of the people and places of Poweshiek County. Over the years, dozens of community members have brought in letters, photographs, scrapbooks, ledgers, and other documents that tell the area's history. This site contains over 120 items, including...
Patrobas Cassius Robinson was a student at the University of Iowa from 1923 to 1927 and his accounts of his experience offer a rare glimpse into African American student life at Iowa in the early 20th century. His scrapbooks and papers were digitized by the University of Iowa Libraries and are available for general perusal here. Visitors can look through his 38-page scrapbook, along with his...