Janesville

History

Janesville was founded in 1849 by John T. Barrick, a Quaker and abolitionist who had relocated to Iowa from Ohio. According to the book, "The Janesvillians, Volumes I and II" by Maxine Leonard, John T. Barrick built the first mill and frame house in the area. He platted the town of Janesville, which he named in honor of his wife, Jane McPherson Barrick. A post office was established in 1854. It has been established that a tunnel once existed under the business district of Janesville. The tunnel ran between basements and below buildings on both sides of Janesville's Main Street, crossing below the street in the center of town and continuing westward to the Cedar River. One branch of the tunnel continued northward, connecting to the site of Fort John, a shelter built to protect settlers during the Ho-Chunk uprising in June, 1854. The tunnel terminated in the basement of the home of Abel Crail, who later served in Union Army in the American Civil War, and was the first Commander of Janesville Post No. 172, Grand Army of the Republic. According to local legend, the Barricks and other townsfolk sympathetic to their cause aided in the escape of runaway slaves as part of the Underground Railroad. Slaves were moved through Janesville from Grinnell and continued to Decorah and into southeastern Minnesota. The tunnel has since been filled in and no longer exists. People claim to have seen these tunnels and that in fact they still exist to this day. Janesville was a farming community with a population of 311 in 1900, according to the Iowa Data Center [http://www.iowadatacenter.org]. The town's population increased to just 445 by 1950. Because of its proximity to Waterloo-Cedar Falls, the population of Janesville increased to 840 by 1980, when the town was referred to as a…

Geography

Janesville is located on the county line between Bremer and Black Hawk counties, and is bisected by the Cedar River. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  3,690
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,622
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  3,417
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,289
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  3,145
• White-breasted Nuthatch

  Sitta carolinensis Latham, 1790 · Aves
  2,892
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,790
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,705

Largest nearby schools

• Waverly-Shell Rock Senior High School
  High · Waverly · 771 students · 16.1:1 ratio
• Waverly-Shell Rock Middle School
  Middle · Waverly · 699 students · 13.7:1 ratio
• K-5 Elementary School Lincoln Street Building
  Elementary · Denver · 467 students · 16.1:1 ratio
• Janesville Elementary School
  Elementary · Janesville · 267 students · 16.7:1 ratio
• Denver Senior High School
  High · Denver · 262 students · 14.6:1 ratio
• Janesville Junior-Senior High School
  High · Janesville · 237 students · 21.5:1 ratio
• Margaretta Carey Elementary School
  Elementary · Waverly · 237 students · 15.8:1 ratio
• West Cedar Elementary School
  Elementary · Waverly · 230 students · 19.2:1 ratio