Icaria Museum and Research Library
Icaria history and artifacts on display. Library contains several collections, Icaria genealogy and Adams County records for the researcher. Open Tuesday - Friday, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm and by appointment.
Icarian Genealogy
Premiere Avant-Garde
One
of the most spectacular French emigration to the United States occurred
in the year 1848. At 9 o'clock in the morning, on February the 3rd,
the steamship ROME slowly left the harbor of Le Havre, France. The
gendarmes had parted from the ship after having checked all passports
and were on their rowboat. On the deck sixty-nine men, wearing black
tunics, grey trousers, grey felter hats and Neapolitian shoes proudly
answered, each in turn, with a loud "present" to the call of their
delegate.
The
ship ROME was a 3-masted, square-rigged vessel, built in Bath, Maine,
in 1847. It weighed 673 tons and was142' 4" length x 32' 3" beam x 16'
1-1/2" depth of hold. The ROME departed from Le Havre France on 03
February 1848, arriving at the port of New Orleans, Louisiana, 55 days
later on 27 March 1848.
Listed
here are the surnames of the 69 men sailing the Rome for America to
establish Icaria. One year after they arrived, only 20 members of the
Premiere Advant-Garde remained with the Icarians in New Orleans. Those
names are marked with an asterisk.
Quest for Utopia Exhibit
The exhibit consists of eight panels for the display of historic photographs and drawings that tell the story of the Icaria Colony and the people who lived there. A secondary component to the exhibit is a curriculum guide prepared to acquaint educators with the Icarians of Adams County 1852-1898. The guide includes information about the Icarians history, classroom activities for students, and other activities for public groups. An additional reading list contains boods that will be of interest for further study. The Instructional Unit was funded by Humanities Iowa and the Iowa Sesquicentennial Commission.
Icaria School
A living history program for school and youth groups at the 1860 Icaria one-room school will be available in 2009.