Historic Northern Iowa / Carrie Lane Chapman Catt - (1859 - 1947)

Historic Northern Iowa, also, Carrie Lane Chapman Catt - (1859 - 1947). . , Northern Iowa landforms result from the action of 3 separate glacial ice sheets. Clear Lake, south of here, is one of the many Iowa lakes formed by glacial action. Pilot Knob, a glacially formed hill west of here, is one of highest points in northern Iowa and was used as a landmark by early travelers. , Much of the Western two-thirds of Iowa was prairie when the first settlers arrived. Pioneers in this area travelled through grasses 5 to 7 feet tall. Many of them referred to this experience as "a voyage through an ocean of grass." A remnant of this prairie may be seen at the Hayden Preserve near Lime Springs, about 50 miles east of here. , One noteworthy Iowan, born in Cresco in 1914, is Norman Borlaug, recipient of the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize and many other international awards for his work in increasing world wheat production. Another northern Iowan of note is Hamlin Garland (1860-1940), acclaimed for his novels of late 19th century farm life. Garland wrote over 30 novels, including a Pulitzer Prize winner, A Daughter of the Middle Border .(over) , Mrs. Catt began her career as a leader of the women's suffrage movement while Superintendent of Schools and newspaper editor in Mason City, after attending elementary and secondary school in Charles City, and Iowa State College in Ames. In 1886 she organized a house-to-house survey which showed that all but 10 Mason City women favored enfranchisement, a statistic she often cited in her later work. She became Secretary of the Iowa Woman Suffrage Association and organized campaigns in several other states during the 1890s, winning the vote for women in Colorado and Idaho, but losing in others, notably Iowa. , In 1900 Mrs. Catt was elected President of the National Woman Suffrage Association, a post she held until 1904, and from 1915 to 1938. She also founded the International Woman Suffrage Alliance, lectured throughout the world, and after ratification of the 19th Amendment, founded the League of Women Voters. Mrs. Catt held offices in the women's rights movement for 51 years and received numerous foreign and domestic awards, including Woman of the Year in 1940.