CEDAR RAPIDS

city, seat (1833) of Linn county, east central Iowa, U.S., astride the Cedar River, in the middle of the Corn Belt, adjoining the city of Marion (northeast), 112 mi (180 km) north-northeast of Des Moines. The east bank, settled in the 1830s and surveyed in 1841, was called Rapids City for the rapids that supplied abundant waterpower. It was renamed when incorporated as a town in 1849. With the advent of the railroads in 1859, it developed as a grain and livestock market. Kingston (on the west bank) was annexed in 1870, and Kenwood Park in 1926. The economy, now well diversified, represents in particular farming and related industries (cereals, packaged meats, farm implements, stock feeds, and milk-processing machinery); the manufacture of electronic equipment is also important. May's Island in the river's main channel is the hub of the city's civic plan. The large Quaker Oats plant is a riverside landmark. The Bohemian culture of early immigrants still marks the city's urban life. Cedar Rapids is the home of Coe College (1851), Mt. Mercy College (1928), and Kirkwood Community College (1966). The city's Masonic Library and Grand Lodge Office Building houses one of the largest collections of Masonic material in the world. Inc. city, 1856. Pop. (1990) city, 108,751; Cedar Rapids MSA, 168,767.