ISU Extension on the hunt for land grant properties

In 2002, when 4-H was celebrating its 100th anniversary in Iowa, local clubs began to wonder about their own history, and what happened that led to the creation of the organization itself.
What came next snowballed into a broader look at the history of Iowa State University Extension and the founding of ISU itself, Jill Mims of Iowa State University Extension in Calhoun County told members of the Calhoun County Museum board last week. And from there, extension employees, thinking about their own 100th anniversaries, started wondering about the land grants themselves, awarded in 1862. Where were those original parcels and what sits on them today were just some of the questions extension employees are looking to answer as they begin researching those land grants.
“I would like to find out their stories,” Mims said of the history of land that was part of that original land grant more than 150 years ago. “It will be interesting to see if any of those Century Farms are land grants.”
Read more in the Sept. 20 edition.