Johnson County Historical Resources.

In truth, no person is an island – we all build our life’s work on the shoulders of those who have gone before us. So it is with the writing of historical accounts about people, places, and events from Iowa City, Johnson County, and eastern-Iowa. For nearly two hundred years, those of us who write about our distant past must pull from the work that’s already been done by others.

As you peruse **Our Iowa Heritage** website, you’ll notice that, as we tell our stories, we try, whenever possible, to link you to as many on-line references as we possibly can – all located at the bottom of each post. Unfortunately, on occasion, those reference sources will change up their links and sadly we don’t have ability to keep up with all of those types of external changes. Thanks for understanding.

When it comes to researching the history of Johnson County, there are many wonderful resources that we’ve found invaluable to our work. Here on this page, I’d like to tip my hat to a few of those good folks who have gone before us, sharing a good number of Johnson County historic gems, beginning with the earliest (1838) and then moving closer to today. So, here goes…

1838-1843 – The Journal of Cyrus Sanders. Fortunately, one of Johnson County’s earliest settlers, Cyrus Sanders, recorded his early adventures over a five-year period (1838-1843), in a journal – giving us a day-by-day account of one man’s trek from Ohio to Iowa. An amazing first-hand account for all Johnson County historians. Read more here.

You can access The Journal of Cyrus Sander here.

1840-1929 – Historical Iowa City Newspapers. Thanks to the Iowa City Library, you can access early newspapers from Iowa City – going as far back as 1840! Read more here.

Of course, another wonderful resource – while not free – is Newspapers.com. Check it out.

1841 Sketches Of Iowa & 1846 A Glimpse Of Iowa by J.B. Newhall. A native of Lynn, Massachusetts, John B. Newhall made his way west to Burlington, just as Iowa was opening up to new settlers. Most historians place his arrival at 1834. Over the next fifteen years, Newhall became nothing short of a regional celebrity – author of two guidebooks (above) that proved to be invaluable to those who were relocating to Iowa. And amazing resources today for Johnson County, Iowa City, and all of Iowa. Read more here.

You can access Sketches of Iowa, or the Emigrant’s Guide, J.B. Newhall, 1841 here.

You can access A Glimpse of Iowa in 1846, J.B. Newhall, 1846 here.

1866-1925 – A Collection of Yearbooks from the Johnson County Old Setters’ Association – In 1866, a handful of Johnson County pioneers gathered for a picnic where they reminisced about the early days. That group grew over the years and continued meeting until 1925, and beginning in 1897, published an annual reunion booklet. Read more here.

You can access all of the Old Settlers’ Association yearbooks, 1866-1925, Johnson County, Iowa here – thanks to FamilySearch.org.

*Iowa City pioneer – F.M. Irish. Read more about him here.*

1868 – Iowa City pioneer, F. M. Irish (1801-1875), was the first person to systematically write an eye-witness history of Johnson County. His article, History of Johnson County, was divided into four sections, first appearing in four consecutive volumes of the Annals of Iowa (1868).

History of Johnson County – Part 1, Iowa History of Johnson County, Iowa, F.M. Irish, The Annals of Iowa, Volume 1868 – Number 1, 1868, pp 23-31

History of Johnson County – Part 2, Iowa History of Johnson County, Iowa, F.M. Irish, The Annals of Iowa, Volume 1868 – Number 2, 1868 , pp 105-120

History of Johnson County – Part 3, Iowa History of Johnson County, Iowa, F.M. Irish, The Annals of Iowa, Volume 1868 – Number 3, 1868 , pp 191-215

History of Johnson County – Part 4, Iowa History of Johnson County, Iowa, F.M. Irish, The Annals of Iowa, Volume 1868 – Number 4, 1868 , pp 302-328

November 1880 – A Sketch of Johnson County – The Iowa City Board of Trade – this small 28-page booklet offers a great overview of early businesses and other biographical sketches. Read more here. – or view this on-line version from the Newberry Library.

A similar report was published by The Iowa City Republican – including dozens of graphics in June 1887. See it all here.

1883 – History of Johnson County, Iowa containing a History of the County and the Townships, Cities and Villages from 1836 to 1882 – Together with Biographical Sketches is, by far, is the weightiest volume on Johnson County history with 966 pages of Johnson County history. The editor/publisher is not listed anywhere in the book, but the preface (see below) credits the writings of famed Iowa Citians such as Henry Felkner, John P. Irish, S.C. Trowbridge, T.S. Parvin, Samuel Kirkwood, Samuel Calvin, and many others.

There is a dirty little story behind the publication of this massive 1883 volume, and it involves the writings of one of Johnson County’s earliest residents – **Cyrus Sanders**. Click here to read the juicy details.

This Internet Archive on-line version comes from the New York City Public Library.

1893 – Iowa City – A Contribution to the Early History of Iowa – Benjamin F. Shambaugh (1871-1940) – This classic book by Shambaugh is the first of many books this SUI professor wrote over his 40 years of service. Click here to read more.

This Internet Archive on-line version comes from the University of California Libraries.

*Portrait and Biographical Record of Johnson, Poweshiek and Iowa Counties, Iowa, Chapman Bros. – 1893.*

1893 – Portrait and Biographical Record of Johnson, Poweshiek and Iowa Counties, Iowa contains biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, also biographies of the presidents of the United States – 742 pages from 1893.

This Internet Archive on-line version comes from the Library of Congress. – Click here for an alphabetical index.

1912-13 – Leading Events in Johnson County, Iowa – Volume 1 & 2 – Clarence Ray (C.R.) Aurner (1902-1930) – a huge collection of writings in two volumes, the second of which is purely biographical sketches.

1912 – Volume 1 – This Internet Archive on-line version comes from the New York City Public Library.

1913 – Volume 2 – This Internet Archive on-line version comes from the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.

From the mid-1920’s to the late 1950’s, newspaper editor – Jacob E. Reizenstein – wrote hundreds of articles for The Iowa City Press-Citizen using two headers – A Fact A Day About Iowa City and 20 Years Ago Today In Iowa City. While not readily available in a single on-line resource, J.E.R.’s articles can be researched on The Iowa City Public Library Digital Website – Historical Iowa City Newspapers, and via Newspapers.com.

1939 – The Old Stone Capitol Remembers – When Iowa City Was Young – Benjamin F. Shambaugh – Published in 1939, upon the one-hundredth anniversary of the founding of Iowa City, The Old Stone Capitol Remembers contains a huge collection of facts and figures, but more importantly, it includes many of the entertaining stories surrounding the history of Iowa City, Johnson County, The University of Iowa, and the Territory/State of Iowa. Click here to read more.

You can access the entire book here.

Benjamin Shambaugh – Some Interesting Facts – Volume I. Here, we share some of Shambaugh’s writings that focused on Iowa City’s first year of existence – 1839. From its inception by declaration of law in January 1839 to the sale of the first plots of land in August & October 1839, here’s a brief overview of Iowa’s new capital city.

Benjamin Shambaugh – Some Interesting Facts – Volume II. Here, we share some of Shambaugh’s writings that focused on Iowa City’s first years of existence – 1839-1841. From the very limited transportation options getting into the city to the very first businesses that opened their doors, here’s a brief overview of Iowa’s new capital city.

Benjamin Shambaugh – Some Interesting Facts – Volume III. Here, we share some of Shambaugh’s writings that focused on Iowa City’s first years of existence – 1839-1842. From the very first spade of dirt dug out of the ground in July 1839 to the opening of the first Territorial Legislative session in December 1842, here’s a brief overview of Iowa’s new capitol building (today’s Old Capitol).

1973-1997 Irving Weber Writings (1900-1997) – In January 1973, when Weber was 72, The Iowa City Press Citizen began publishing his stories on local history on a weekly basis. Over the next 25 years, under the banner Irving Weber’s Iowa City, our community’s best-known historian published over 800 of his columns, half of which were then reprinted in eight volumes published by the Iowa City Lions Club.

Without a doubt, Irving B. Weber’s writings from the 1970’s to the 1990’s are vitally important to the preservation of Johnson County, Iowa history. Thus, here at *Our Iowa Heritage*, we’ve taken the liberty to INDEX the material from Weber’s eight classic books. It’s our hope that this resource – which provides indexing links to the contents of Weber’s books – will help historians, both today and in the future, access these valuable resources! **Click here to visit our INDEX page.**

2001-2010 Bob Hibbs Writings (1941-2019) – Historian Bob Hibbs followed in the footsteps of Irving Weber, writing over 350 articles on a wide variety of Johnson County subjects and publishing them under his weekly “Saturday Postcards” by-line with The Iowa City Press-Citizen. His collection of Iowa City-themed postcards (3,200) made him the perfect author for the 2010 book from Arcadia Press. Read more here.

Review Bob Hibbs 90+ writings via his collection of turn-of-the-century penny-postcards hosted by the Johnson County IAGenWeb Project.

Marybeth Slonneger is long-time resident of Iowa City and author of five beautiful books focusing on Johnson County history: Remembrance Park – A Wildflower Park to Contemplate the Origins of Johnson County, Iowa (2022), Finials: A View of Downtown Iowa City (2015), Wetherby’s Gallery: Paintings, Daguerreotypes and Ambrotypes of an Artist (2012), The Burg: A Writers’ Diner (2011), Small But Ours: Images and Stories from a Nineteenth Century Bohemian Neighborhood (1999). Click here to read more.