In his June 1838 journal entry, Theodore S. Parvin makes his first mention of his dream of going west to Iowa Territory. In July, young Parvin was introduced to Ohio’s former governor – Robert Lucas – who had just been appointed to the governorship of Iowa Territory by President Martin Van Buren. That conversation quickly led to Lucas inviting T.S. to accompany him to Iowa as one of his private secretaries. Over the next few decades, Parvin had his hands in numerous Iowa City-based projects, including jobs like – 1) serving as Iowa’s first governmental librarian (1839), 2) encouraging Iowans to vote down a premature and politically-motivated drive to statehood (1844), 3) serving as an early supporter of the fledgling State University of Iowa (1847), and 4) helping organize the State Historical Society of Iowa (1857).

CHECK OUT THE COMPLETE BLOG SERIES – Iowa City’s Top 50 Influencers – Part I

Back in 1979 – The Iowa City Press Citizen ran a special seven-page section called Chronology 1841/1979 and it featured Iowa City’s famed historian – Irving Weber – and his look at 25 People Who Left Their Stamp On Iowa City. So, here we are – forty-four years later – and now, I’m offering these two posts – dedicated to those who have greatly influenced our city over the first 100 years or so. This page features the First 25, and as you can see, each of the 25 names has a brief overview with a link(s) to read more, if you like. Enjoy!

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