17 famous people from Lancaster County lancasteronline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lancasteronline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Piece of History
This story about the Linn County Courthouse in Marion burning ran Nov. 1, 1919, in the Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, three days before Linn County residents voted on whether Marion or Cedar Rapids should be the county seat. Artist Grant Wood provided the drawing to run with the story that the paper, in a smaller headline, admitted was imaginary but “may happen at any time.” Those backing Cedar Rapids for the new courthouse argued the Marion courthouse was a fire trap. Marion supporters said May’s Island, the site chosen for a new courthouse in Cedar Rapids, was an inadequate sandbar. Voters picked Cedar Rapids, by a two-to-one margin, for the new courthouse and county seat. (Gazette archives)