Cedar Rapids

History

The location of present-day Cedar Rapids was in the territory of the Meskwaki and Sauk peoples at the time of European American settlement. The first settler on the site of the future city was Osgood Shepherd, who built a log cabin (which he called a tavern) in 1837 or 1838 next to the Cedar River (then known as the Red Cedar) at what is now the corner of First Avenue and First Street Northeast. Shepherd was a squatter who claimed the land without legal title and also a reputed ne'er-do-well, who, if he was not a horse thief himself, definitely consorted with them. Early on, it appears that he "jumped the claim" of another squatter, Wilbert Stone, who had built a cabin and platted out a town, some distance south of Shepherd's cabin, that he called Columbus. Shepherd drove Stone across the river, claiming that Stone had built his cabin on Shepherd's land, then sold Stone's cabin to a buyer named Hull. Shepherd later tried the same tactic with perhaps the first settler on the west side of the river, Robert Ellis, but Ellis happened to be chopping wood at the time and warned that someone would be dead if Shepherd did not retreat. The true founders of the city were George Greene, Nicholas Brown, and a few others. Brown had experience as a miller and Greene had surveyed much of eastern Iowa, so both saw the value of the spot Shepherd had claimed. It was right next to the rapids—a prime spot to build a mill—the last set of rapids on the river before the Cedar fed into the Iowa River, meaning that goods milled on the spot could be carried by boat down river to the Mississippi. In 1841, they formed a partnership that bought out Shepherd's claim and platted out a town they called Rapids City. Brown immediately constructed a primitive dam and then built the town's first mill.…

Geography

The city is divided into four quadrants, used in assigning street addresses. 1st Avenue (U.S. Route 151 Business) divides the north and south sides of the city, and the Cedar River divides east and west. Mays Island, in the middle of the river, is the only area of the city where addresses have no quadrant. Areas outside the city limits that have a Cedar Rapids mailing address do not use the quadrants either. Except in the downtown area, 1st Avenue and the Cedar River tend to run diagonally instead of along the cardinal directions. Due to the curving of 1st Avenue, there are some areas in western Cedar Rapids where NW addresses are actually south of SW addresses. Cedar Rapids is divided into 14 ZIP Codes. Mays Island and the downtown area are covered by 52401. The northeast quadrant is covered by 52402 and 52411. The southeast quadrant is covered by 52403. The southwest quadrant is covered by 52404. The northwest quadrant is covered by 52405. Post office boxes are covered by ZIP codes 52406, 52407, 52408, 52409, and 52410. Several other ZIP codes are for specific businesses (Aegon USA, Collins Aerospace, etc.). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (1.64%) is water. In addition to the neighborhood associations in Cedar Rapids, there are many informal, unofficial neighborhoods, such as Bowman Woods, Vernon Heights, Stoney Point, Kingston Village, New Bohemia (NewBo) and Wilderness Estates. Czech Village is located along 16th Avenue SW, south of the Cedar River. It is home to such Czech-themed businesses as The Czech Cottage, Sykora Bakery, and White Lion Treasures. The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library is one of Cedar Rapids' major tourist attractions. The museum's main building was directly on the…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  7,231
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,897
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  5,618
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  5,548
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,892
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  4,890
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,681
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,610