IOWA CITY

city, seat (1839) of Johnson county, east-central Iowa, U.S., on the Iowa River, 27 miles (43 km) south of Cedar Rapids. Founded as territorial capital of Iowa in 1839, it lost the state capital to Des Moines in 1857 but retained the University of Iowa (1847). The Old Capitol (1840) stands on the university campus. With the arrival of the railroad (1855), the city became an important dispersal point for westward immigrants. Its economy, centred on the university and its medical centre, is supplemented by light manufactures (including adhesive paper, toothbrushes, and toiletries) and farming (hogs, cattle, and grain). The Herbert Hoover birthplace (a national historic site) is in West Branch, 10 miles (16 km) east, and the Amana Colonies, seven Old-World villages, are 20 miles (32 km) west-northwest. Coralville, just to the west, was the starting point for the Mormon handcart expedition to Utah of 1856. Inc. 1853. Pop. (1990) city, 59,738; Iowa City MSA, 96,119.