In 1836, The Dubuque Visitor became Iowa’s very first newspaper, and between 1836 and 1860, over 200 newspapers sprung up in this new land called Iowa. Yet by the start of the Civil War (1861), over half of those small-town weeklies had crashed and burned. In 1841, just as Iowa City was preparing to host its first Territorial Legislative Assembly, two young entrepreneurs came to town, going head-to-head as they published Iowa City’s first two newspapers. William Crum moved his paper in from nearby Bloomington (Muscatine), renaming it The Iowa City Standard – just in time to cover the big story of the steamboat Ripple chugging up the Iowa River. Thomas Hughes and his Iowa Capital Reporter arrived soon after, publishing his first edition on December 4 – two days before the Iowa Legislature opened its first Iowa City session. While neither man stayed with their newspapers long term, selling their interest to others who successfully came after them, both men greatly influenced the early history of our fair community.

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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