MASON CITY

city, seat (1855) of Cerro Gordo county, north-central Iowa, U.S. It lies along the Winnebago River, 119 miles (192 km) north of Des Moines. Settled by Freemasons in 1853, its earlier names were Shibboleth and Masonic Grove. The city is underlain by deposits of clay and limestone and also has deposits of sand and gravel available, hence it supports a substantial cement industry. It also has one of the largest brick and drain-tile plants west of the Mississippi. Other industries in the city are farm-based. Mason City was the hometown of the composer Meredith Willson and was the River City of his highly successful Broadway musical The Music Man (1957). The city is the home of the North Iowa Area Community College (founded 1918). The resort area of Clear Lake is 10 miles (16 km) west. Inc. town, 1870; city, 1881. Pop. (1990) 29,040.