On Sept. 12, 1862, Iowa became the first State in the Nation to accept the terms and conditions of the Morrill Act creating the land-grant system of colleges. The Act, sponsored by Vermont Congressman Justin Smith Morrill, expropriated more than 10 million acres of land from 245 tribal nations and divided it into roughly 80,000 parcels for redistribution.

In 1856, the Iowa General Assembly enacted legislation to establish the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, now Iowa State University, was officially established on Mar. 22, 1858. The first graduating class of 1872 consisted of 24 men and two women.