Piece of History: 175 years ago …

The city of Cedar Rapids is celebrating its 175th anniversary, and The History Center is home to the original town charter.

On Jan. 15, 1849, a town charter for Cedar Rapids was adopted and town officers elected. The charter was approved by the General Assembly of Iowa in 1849, just three years after Iowa became a state.

You might expect the charter to be typeset and dozens of pages, but it is handwritten and only four pages long, including the signature page.

Download: Cedar Rapids Charter (1).pdf

The charter was signed by Ansel Briggs, Smiley Bonham, John J. Tillman and Josiah Bonney. The signatures can be hard to read, but additional research into state officials at the time made it clear.

The document was signed by Iowa Gov. Ansel Briggs, Johnson and Iowa county representative Smiley H. Bonham, President of the Senate John J. Selman and Secretary of State Josiah H. Bonney.

In 1856, just seven years later, a new city charter was granted by the Iowa Legislature and the affairs of the city were conducted under that charter for more than a half century.

The city’s first form of government, like many municipalities at the time, consisted of a mayor and several aldermen elected from city wards.

In April 1908, the charter was abandoned, and the city went under what is known as the “commission plan.” This lasted until 2005, when Cedar Rapids voters adopted a Home Rule Charter, changing to the current council-manager form of government.

Tara Templeman is curator at The History Center. Comments: curator@historycenter.org