The city is located on a handsome site at a point where the Wapsipinicon River cuts through rolling hills, many of which were covered with oaks. The northsouth, east-west grid was laid out in 1847, first on the east side of the river and later on the west side. In the early 1850s a dam and mill were constructed across the river. The Illinois Central Railroad reached the community in 1859, and later the Burlington, Cedar Rapids, and Minnesota Railroad arrived. The courthouse site and its adjacent park were planned to be away from the commercial downtown. The earliest residential areas developed south and north of First Street East; later it extended across the river south of First Street West.
Writing Credits
If SAH Archipedia has been useful to you, please consider supporting it.
SAH Archipedia tells the story of the United States through its buildings, landscapes, and cities. This freely available resource empowers the public with authoritative knowledge that deepens their understanding and appreciation of the built environment. But the Society of Architectural Historians, which created SAH Archipedia with University of Virginia Press, needs your support to maintain the high-caliber research, writing, photography, cartography, editing, design, and programming that make SAH Archipedia a trusted online resource available to all who value the history of place, heritage tourism, and learning.