CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, city in Linn County, on the Cedar Wiver and the Chicago & N. W., Chicago, R. I. & P., Chicago, M. & Saint P. and Illinois C. railroads, 219 miles west of Chicago and 310 miles north of Saint Louis. It is an important railway and manu facturing centre, and has valuable waterpower. The city is built on terraced hills on both sides of the river which is here crossed by several bridges. The streets are paved with brick and asphalt, and it has large and well-planned parks and excellent sewer, water, trolley, gas and electric-lighting systems. Cedar Rapids is the centre for a rich agricultural re_gion and has an extensive wholesale trade. The city con tains about 192 manufacturing establishments; capital, $6,500,000; persons employed, 6,500; wages, $4,500,000; value of products, $47,000, 000. These figures did not include the Ameri can Cereal Company, whose mills employ 800 persons and have a daily capacity of 5,000 bar rels. The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Rail way shops employ nearly 1,000 men. Other in dustries are pork-packing, and the manufacture of flour, cereals, pumps, windmills, starch, furniture, agricultural implements, dairy, creamery and egg supplies, wagons and car riages, planing-mill products and confectionery.
The United States census of manufactures for -1914 recorded 170 industrial establishments of factory grade, employing 5,669 persons, of whom 4394 were wage earners, receiving yearly $2,727,000 in wages. The capital invested ag gregated $20,281,000, and the year's output was valued at $34,989,000: of this, $9,041,000 was the value added by manufacture. There are three national and seven other banks; and daily, weekly and monthly newspapers. Cedar Rapids is the seat of Coe College (Presbyter ian), has excellent public and private schools, a business college and public and Masonic libraries. It has many handsome private resi dences and churches, hospitals, a post office and Federal court building, Masonic Temple, auditorium and fine business and railway build ings. The first settlement at the rapids of the river was in 1845. The city was incorporated in 1856, and the charter revised in 1898. The mayor and city council are elected for two years. Pop. 40,690.