How Did Iowa Become ‘The Hawkeye State?’

You need only be in Iowa for roughly 15 minutes or less before you see something Hawkeye-related. Whether it's related to the literal bird of the state, one of the many University of Iowa teams, or a cartoon depicting the creature, Iowa dons its "Hawkeye" moniker unlike any state in which I've ever seen.

Traditions like these are generally taken for granted, sometimes insidiously begging you to ask the question: how did they start? Tracing the origins of the state of Iowa's Hawkeye lore isn't easy, but I think I've narrowed down a source for how/why we became "the Hawkeye State."

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Per the website Our Iowa Heritage, the State of Iowa's website once provided general clarity on why Iowa was considered "the Hawkeye State:"

Two Iowa promoters from Burlington are believed to have popularized the name. The nickname was given approval by “territorial officials” in 1838, eight years before Iowa became a state. - per Our Iowa Heritage's website

That blurb alone doesn't clarify much, and frankly, only asks more questions. Digging deeper on Our Iowa Heritage's website reveals a bit more about who exactly those two promoters were and how/why they considered the Hawkeye worth of representing the state.

The two promoters as they were known were Judge David Rorer and James G. Edwards, both of Burlington, IA. As the story goes, around 1838/1839, Rorer feared that Iowa was being slandered and disrespected by its regional neighbors. He thought it wise that the state would create their own identity. He worked with Edwards, a Burlington newspaper editor, to conjure up a nickname worthy of representing the state.

Even Our Iowa Heritage admits the subsequent details are fuzzy. One account states that it was Edwards who changed the name of his newspaper from "The Iowa Patriot" to "The Burlington Hawk-Eye" as a tribute to Chief Black Hawk and Stephen Sumner Phelps, a fur-trader from Illinois whose nickname was "Hawkeye."

According to the Iowa Journal of History, Edwards liked Rorer's nickname and published the following excerpt in the September 5th, 1839 edition of his aforementioned newspaper:

If a division of the territory is effected, we propose that the Iowans take the cognomen of Hawk-eyes. Our etymology can then be more definitely traced than can that of the Wolverines, Suckers, Gophers, etc., and we shall rescue from oblivion a memento, at least, of the name of the old chief. Who seconds the motion? - per Our Iowa Heritage's website

It's believable that a newspaper, the most influential medium of the time, would be the one to ultimately guide folks in the direction of promoting a state identity. The other theory as to how Iowa became "the Hawkeye State" is that Judge Rorer borrowed the name "Hawkeye" from the popular novel The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper, published in 1826. In Cooper's novel, Hawkeye adapts to the difficulties of life on the frontier by bridging the divide between white European and Native American culture.

Now, the Hawkeye is emblazoned on the state's sports teams, and is a common referral when referencing the state of Iowa.

Read more about Iowa's "Hawkeye State" origins on the Our Iowa Heritage website.