Selected Timeline for Iowa’s Rural Settlement and One Room Schools 1803 Louisiana Purchase contains land that will become the State of Iowa.

1836 Federal land survey of Iowa begins; required before land could be sold. It was completed in 1859.
1838 Iowa becomes a territory of Iowa with 19 active counties on the eastern side of Iowa.
1846 Iowa becomes a state with 31 active counties, population 102,388.
1853 Legislature names all 99 counties of Iowa and sets a township as the political and educational unit
1856 Iowa accepts Railroad Grant from Congress to develop central and western Iowa.
1858 Legislature passes Common School Legislation which sets up Iowa’s Rural School System.
1859 Federal land survey of Iowa started in 1836 is completed.
1867  First railroad across Iowa is completed.
1869 Iowa Railroad Land Company is formed to advertise railroad land for sale.
1870 Iowa creates Board of Immigration and produces advertising booklet in 5 European languages.
1870 Iowa’s population is 1,194,020. Large scale migration begins from Europe and other parts of the United States to buy cheap, rich prairieland in Iowa. About 9 million tilled acres mostly along rivers, rails and in eastern Iowa.  1879 Appointments of all 99 County Superintendents completed to finish organizing school boards and building schools. 1900 Iowa’s population is 2,231, 853 with 228,622 farms (ave. 155 acres) with 35.5 million tilled acres—highest ever. 1901 One room schools peak at 12,623.
1919 Iowa Standard School legislation passes.
1953 Legislature passes the Community School District law that changes boundaries of school districts and makes decision to close rural schools a local one.
1966 Public rural schools are no longer operating in Iowa—only Amish and Mennonite schools continue