Genealogical Society of Linn County Iowa

06/18/2026

The library hours will be 12:00 until 4:00 pm on Saturday, June 20th.

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06/18/2026

Join us this Saturday from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the
Oak Hill Cemetery, 1705 Mt. Vernon Rd. SE, Cedar Rapids. Ashley Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, sponsors this guided walk led by historian Mark Stoffer Hunter in honor of America's 250th birthday. Enter at 19th St. SE and proceed to the stone pavilion near the 15th St. SE intersection. Free.

06/04/2026

Be cool with a T-shirt from the Genealogical Society. Short sleeve shirts are $10 and long sleeve shirts are $15.

06/01/2026

This month’s featured book is the “City Directory”. In our library we have Cedar Rapids directories from 1869-2006 and Marion City directories from 1916-2005. These were typically printed by R.L. Polk & Co. Directories contain a wealth of information. In the introduction there is an index to advertisers, small statistical review of the city, an abbreviated history of the city, historical dates and pictures. The main features of the city directory are as follows:
1. Buyers’ Guide: a completely classified business directory.
This includes advertisements and business card information. Similar to the “Yellow Pages”.
2. Alphabetical List of Names: directory of businesses and private citizens. This gives the name, official personnel, nature and address of each firm and corporation. This also shows the name, marital status, occupation and address of each adult resident in the city.
3. Directory of Householders, Including Street and Avenue Guide: Numbered Streets are arranged in numerical order, followed by the named streets in alphabetical order. The numbers of the residences and businesses are arranged in numerical order under the name of each street, and the names of the householders and businesses are placed opposite the numbers. The names of the intersecting streets appear at their respective crossing points on each street. Special features of this section are the designations of owner-occupied homes, the listing of telephone numbers and Zip Codes.
4. Numerical Telephone Directory: self-explanatory
5. Rural Routes Directory: Alphabetical list of people on each Rural Route (postal routes).

So, if you are trying to remember who lived down the street from you when you were growing up, this is the place to go. Or, if you are looking to see if one of your ancestors was living in a certain area of town or had moved to another location, this is the book for you.
We have acquired many duplicate Cedar Rapids and Marion city directories. They are for sale in our library. We have Cedar Rapids directories 1939-1988, and Marion directories 1924-1992.

05/28/2026

Are you planning a family reunion for 2026? Now is the perfect time to begin.

The Genealogical Society of Linn County Iowa is here to assist you. Our library volunteers are available to help research your family history, and we can also provide a short presentation to include during your event.

As you gather with relatives, we encourage you to begin accumulating information by asking family members to contribute photos, stories, and narrative details.

Please let us know if we can support your planning process.

05/21/2026

Each red dot on the map indicates a location from which a visitor came to utilize our library's resources. Summer offers a fitting opportunity to explore the ancestral homelands of your family.

05/20/2026

The library will be CLOSED
Friday, May 22nd and Saturday, May 23rd
for the Memorial Day weekend.

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