Thirty-two years: Growth of the city shown by a map

Very Few Business Houses, Residences or Churches of that Time Now in Existence – Nearly all Industries of Later Growth – Some Great Changes.

In the office of the Western Poultry Journal, Granby block, is a “map of Cedar Rapids and Kingston,” printed in 1868, and preserved by E.E. Richards for the reason that it shows the house in Kingston where he was born, albeit that house like its companions is now among the memories of the past. Cedar Rapids was not much of a city then, although it had made a fine record in the war, at that time new history. It had as citizens many of the grand men and women who made an early name for their community and placed it in the front rank in the state. Even in that map can be seen the prophesy of a city. The citizens planned their streets for the accommodation of something more than a village and the wisdom of the founders is seen today in the broad thoroughfares as much the pride of the whole state as of Cedar Rapids.

On the east side of the river the north and south streets in 1868 were Commercial, Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Jackson, Van Buren, Harrison and Polk, the latter extending but one block south and one block north of Iowa (First) avenue. Beyond Polk (Tenth) street were farms and even beyond Madison (Fifth) the map gives the idea tht the plat was suburban. In fact there were more suburbs than anything else.

There was but one avenue (Iowa or First) so-called. The east and west streets were Johnson (C avenue), Benton, Linn, Iowa, Eagle, Market, Sugar, Green, Brown, Daniels, Sanford, Carpenter, Legare and Weare (Eleventh avenue). Below the latter street there was nothing but farms. The Sinclair packing house, forerunner of the great plant, stood at Legare street and the river bank. The Northwestern and Dubuque & Southwestern were the only railroads. Cooper's and Snouffer's (Anchor) mills were in existence and had for a neighbor a woolen mill, long since a memory. The Etna mill and Dawson's elevator stood near the present site of the cereal mills. Payson's seminary (since Coe college) looked lonely out on the country beyond Polk street. There were three school houses, the First, Second and Third ward, none of them now standing, although the Washington was thought so attractive that its cut was used  to embellish one corner of the map.

The Solomon corner, the Passmore building and some of the edifices along the easterly side of Commercial (First) street between First and Second avenues, were then standing. Nothing else in the business portion  of the city remains to tell the tale, and still the people of 1868 (not so very long ago) were proud of the buildings that have been demolished to make room for better.

Of the churches, there were the Episcopal, Baptist, Presbyterian, O.S. Presbyterian, N.S. United Presbyterian, Methodist, Lutheran (English) and Catholic (Immaculate Conception). The Catholic school (now St. Joseph's academy) was also in existence. That was the extent of the religious conveniences of the people. Few if any the churches occupied their present buildings and few held their present locations. Against this showing there are now the Episcopal (Grace), four Baptist (including the Dunker), five Presbyterian and one mission, the United Presbyterian, five Methodist (including the Free), four Lutheran and one Lutheran school, three Catholic and three Catholic schools, the latter denomination having added a convent and hospital. Surely the churches that built early in Cedar Rapids built well. While these denominations have prospered other shave entered the field, and the work along this line has kept pace with commercial growth for the reason that the wealthy citizens have always been church promoters.

There were two bridges, the C. & N. W. railway bridge (replaced recently by the double track structure) and the old pontoon at Iowa avenue, destroyed in a freshet. Of course the water plant, gas plant and street railway were too metropolitan for the time.

Kingston as It Was

The west side then gloried in a separate existence as Kingston. The only connecting link with its neighbor was found in graciously allowing Iowa avenue and Benton street t retain their names in Kingston. The  people of the western village had the rational idea of naming  streets, calling their north and south thoroughfares First, Second, Third and Fourth. But their east and west streets wer named Jersey (now E avenue), Mills, Benton, Iowa, King, Walnut, Webster, Pearl and Pleasant. There were 113 buildings, including residences, stores and factories and exclusive of barns and outbuildings, indicating a population of possibly four hundred. Among  these buildings was the old paper mill that made a great market for the straw of the pioneers, and a saw mill, its neighbor, located about at F avenue and the river. The creek that came from the southwest meandered through Kingston and the neighboring farms at its own sweet will, finally entering the river near Webster street (Fourth avenue). What is left of this creek is now called Jim Crow in contempt, is shut out of its old course by a dyke that protects the residents of that part of the Sixth ward and forced to come through town in the Third avenue storm water sewer, when there is enough of it to come, which is not often. There was an apology for a school house, instead of the present buildings with their fifty-four school rooms, aside from two parish schools. There was one church instead of more than a dozen church and missions, and all that could be said was that Kingston was a straggling village with a few streets and no public roads fit to be mentioned in polite society, and a future so little comprehended that the man who had foretold it would have been sent to a crazy house or accused of inebriety.

There is now a greater length of streets paved than was in existence at the time this map was made. There are four wagon bridges to carry the traffic across the river in place of the one pontoon and conditions  are more congested with the additional accommodations than then.

If any man has the desire to prophesy of the future let him draw a map from the streets of thirty-two years ago,compare it with the present map, figure the bettered facilities for growth and the flattering outlook, and say what “Cedar Rapids and Kingston” will be thirty-two years hence.

The Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, Saturday, December 29, 1900