H.C. Hemenway

The establishment of the Iowa State Normal School, today the University of Northern Iowa, was shaped by the vision and persistence of two Civil War veterans turned public servants: Edward Gee Miller became a driving force behind the idea of establishing a state-funded normal school to train Iowa teachers. Representative H.C. Hemenway, a Cedar Falls attorney with distinguished military service, shared Miller’s passion for education and became an essential part of the process. 

After moving to Cedar Falls in 1866, Hemenway quickly emerged as a respected community leader. Elected to the Iowa House of Representatives in 1875, he leveraged his legal expertise to advance the cause of a normal school in Cedar Falls. His commitment was so significant that Miller later wrote that no other person in the county could have matched Hemenway’s combination of intelligence and skill. In fact, Hemenway’s ability to navigate the legislative process earned him the title “Father of the Normal School.”

Senator Miller intended to reintroduce his bill of the 15th General Assembly for establishing a normal school in the 16th General Assembly on March 14, 1876. But he didn’t have the bill with him. Hemenway introduced his own bill to establish a “school for teachers,” while Miller — though dissatisfied with its content — strategically pushed it forward in the Senate to buy time to amend it. 

Following the passage of the law, Hemenway was appointed a trustee of the new State Normal School and soon elected President of the Board. In partnership with the Orphans’ Home Board, he helped oversee the conversion of Central Hall into the school’s first academic building.

Together, Miller and Hemenway laid the foundation for what would become UNI, merging their shared belief in the power of teacher education. Their legacy, though sometimes hidden, like Miller’s plaque inside the Campanile, continues to resonate across the generations of students and educators who have benefited from the institution they fought to create.