The United States was very different in nineteenth century than it is today. Back then, if you wanted to start your own city, all you had to do was find some reasonably vacant land and declare it to be yours. This was, in fact, what Mr. Osgood Sheperd did in 1837 when he showed up and constructed a tavern on a plot of land that we now know as Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Shortly thereafter, Mr. J. Wilbert Stone showed up and began building a trading post and town, which he called Columbus, to the south of Sheperd’s tavern. Stone eventually moved west across the Red Cedar River, establishing Kingston City, which was named in honor of the first man to operate a ferry across the river, David W. King.
Five years later, in 1841, several pioneers led by N. B. Brown purchased rights to Sheperd’s land, and began formal plans for the town of Cedar Rapids, so called because of the red cedar trees which grew along the banks of the river. Cedar Rapids officially became a town in 1849, with Kingston City following four years later in 1853.
By 1856, town government filed the necessary paperwork and received approval from the citizens to incorporate Cedar Rapids as a city. At this time, more than one thousand people running thirty-three businesses made Cedar Rapids their home.
Subsequent work began to construct bridges across the Cedar River, linking Cedar Rapids with Kingston City. A bridge at present-day Seventh Avenue was constructed in 1856, but was destroyed several months later by flooding. Another bridge was built at present-day First Avenue in 1857, but was destroyed by ice in 1858. A second attempt at this bridge was completed in 1859, lasting twelve years before it too was destroyed by ice. It wasn’t until the 1870’s that sufficiently robust bridges were constructed, including the bridge at present-day Sixteenth Avenue, which still stands today.