Linn County, Iowa

Linn County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2010 census, the population was 211,226, making it the second-most populous county in Iowa. The county seat is Cedar Rapids. Linn county is named in honor of Senator Lewis F. Linn of Missouri.Linn County is included in the Cedar Rapids, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area.HistoryLinn County was created as a named but unorganized area on December 21, 1837, as a part of Wisconsin Territory. It became part of Iowa Territory on July 4, 1838 when the territory was organized. Linn County was organized by the first legislative assembly of the Iowa Territory on January 15, 1839. A site was selected for its first county seat along Indian Creek, and was named Marion, after the Revolutionary War general Francis Marion. As early as 1855, there were debates over moving the county seat to the fast-growing Cedar Rapids, southwest of Marion, but it was not until November 6, 1919, that there were enough votes in favor of the move (9,960 to 4,823). The first rail line was built through Cedar Rapids in 1859, and made the town (and the county) a major commercial hub in eastern Iowa.