Photo Credit: Northeast Iowa RC&D
The Turkey River flows through Northeast Iowa in a place known as the “Driftless Area.” It is unique to the Midwest as it was not glaciated and flattened by the last ice age. The topography varies from gently rolling hills to steep valleys framed by palisading limestone bluffs.
For generations, the Turkey River, with its wooden bluffs, fertile lowlands, and wild game populations, has served as a cultural melting pot. Prehistoric archaeological sites of the Archaic and Woodland tribes exist in the Turkey River Valley, with the most notable being a group of Woodland mounds at the Turkey River Mounds State Preserve above the confluence of the Turkey and Mississippi rivers.
In the 1700s, the French Fur Trade brought many of the first Europeans to the area, including those of Spanish and French descent. These settlers traded with the historic Native American tribes of the Ioway, HoChonk, Sauk, and Meskwaki.