Geology and geography of the lowlands -- The first inhabitants -- Euro-American settlement to 1811 -- The New Madrid earthquakes -- Settlement, early agriculture and civil war -- Transportation -- Timber -- Beginning reclamation -- Little River Drainage District : organization and opposition -- Little River Drainage District : planning and construction -- Little River Drainage District : floods, the Great Depression, financial failure and recovery -- Land promotion, post-drainage agriculture and social change -- New political and religious movements and the sharecropper demonstration -- Politics and farm labor changes -- End of an era.
Summary:
"The conversion of swampland to farmland began with small, local drainage projects but complete reclamation was made possible by a system of ditches dug by the Little River Drainage District. This book chronicles the development of the region in the contexts of its geology, history and sociology"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.