10,000 BC

The Sauk and Fox (Meskwaki) Indians stake claim to the area until 1837.    The vicinity is a favorite hunting ground of the Sac and Fox tribes, and is deemed neutral ground for the Sac, Fox, Winnebagoes and Sioux tribes until 1847.

Spring - Fall  Gervais Paul Somaneaux, a French hunter and trapper, scouts the area.  He leaves when winter arrives.  He returns about ten years later to settle in Cedar Falls where he lives until his death in 1850. 

Jul 4  - The Territory of Iowa is officially organized by an act of Congress from June 12th. Robert Lucas of Ohio is the first territorial Governor.    

Black Hawk County is created in 1843 by the Territorial Legislature of Iowa and attached to Delaware County for judicial, election, and revenue purposes. At that time, there were few, if any, settlers in the area.   The county is named for Chief Black Hawk (Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-keah) of the Sac tribe. 

Black Hawk County is attached to Benton County.

William Sturgis & family becomes the first permanent settlers in the region.

Erasmus D. Adams & family settle near the Sturgis family.

The local settlement is named Sturgis Falls

Population: 14

Mrs. Jackson Taylor opens the first area school in her home at Waterloo and East 13th Streets.  

Oct 1 - Jeannette Sturgis is the first non-Native American  to be born in the area.

Dec 28 - Iowa is admitted to the Union as the 29th state.

Feb - John Milton Overman, Dempsey Overman and John T. Barrick arrive in Sturgis Falls to build a dam and mill on the Red Cedar River.  

Fall - William Sturgis accepts John Overman's offer to buy his property, and moves from the area.   

The Overmans and Barrick dig a mill race and build a dam across the Red Cedar River, providing water power to their saw mill (the first in the county). 

Gervais Paul Somaneaux returns to settle in the Cedar Falls area.  He lives here until his death in 1850.

Sturgis Falls is re-christened Cedar Falls.

Dempsey Overman becomes the first Postmaster of Cedar Falls.  So little mail arrived that Dempsey carried the letters under his hat and delivered them to the addressees when he saw them in town. 

Andrew Mullarky arrives in Cedar Falls and opens the first retail store in the county.

Samuel H. Rownd arrives from Ohio with land warrants from Mexican War soldiers.  He purchases several thousand acres from 18th Street southward. 

The Cedar Falls Post Office opens. 

A grist mill is added to the mill race, attracting customers from 100 miles away.

Cedar Fall Flour Mills is organized by Overman Co.

Black Hawk County is attached to Buchanan County.

Cedar Falls is incorporated.

Aug 17 - Black Hawk County forms county government, with Cedar Falls as the county seat. 

The first community school opens on the corner of 5th and Main Streets.

The Overmans donate a plot of land downtown (now Overman Park) to be used for the construction of the county courthouse.

The Masonic Lodge (Black Hawk Lodge No. 65) is organized in Cedar Falls.

Population: 40

A group of men from Waterloo attempt to steal the county records for transplant to Waterloo, but are successfully thwarted by Cedar Falls residents lobbing rotten eggs.

Feb 6 - The Cedar Falls township is organized.

Jun 1 - First Black Hawk County office opens in room of Andrew Mullarky's house.  Rented for $8 per month.

Jul 11 - The area's first newspaper, the Cedar Falls Banner (now The Courier) begins publication.   

Apr 2 - Waterloo pushes a vote through the Iowa General Assembly to move the county seat to Waterloo.   The local vote passes 388 to 260, making Waterloo the new county seat.   First election of Cedar Falls township officers.  Hon. J. M. Overman is elected the first Mayor of Cedar Falls.

Population: 450

Peter Melendy settles in Cedar Falls and becomes a major influence in area politics, education, industry and commerce.

A passing Winnebago tribe holds a pow-wow (war dance) near downtown Cedar Falls, on 3rd Street.  Decked in full war paint and regalia, the tribe is preparing for a battle with the Sioux tribe near Newall's Ford.

Feb 18 - The Cedar Valley Horticulture and Literary Association (forerunner of the Cedar Falls Public Library) is organized.

Population: 1500

Samuel Rownd returns to Cedar Falls with his family.

Population: 1500

Population: 1600

Mar 30 -  The Illinois Central Railroad is completed, linking Cedar Falls to Chicago.   Continued efforts westward to Sioux City are stalled by the Civil War, making Cedar Falls the westward terminus from 1861-1865. 

Cedar Falls sends Black Hawk County's first company of soldiers, "The Pioneer Grays", for the Union cause.

The Cedar Falls and Minnesota Railroad is completed.

Dec 9 - Telegraph services arrive in Cedar Falls, thanks to the Western Union company. The first message, from Platt Smith of Dubuque, reads, "DID I NOT TELL YOU SO".

Central School (later re-named Lincoln School) is constructed on the site of the current Lincoln School grounds. 

The Cedar Falls Fire Department is established, with 85 citizens enrolled.  It has a single Silsby Steam Fire Engine and two hose carts. 

Population: 3388 

A home for orphans of Civil War soldiers opens one mile south of Cedar Falls. 

Waterloo surpasses Cedar Falls in population.

The Iowa State Normal School opens on the site of the Civil War Orphans' Home, which is renamed North Hall.

Cedar Falls now enjoys direct rail connections to Minneapolis/St.Paul, St. Louis, Chicago, New Orleans, Kansas City, Sioux City, Des Moines and Burlington.

The Cedar Falls City Council votes to construct a water works utility at Dry Run and establish city-wide piping.  This major project allows residents to obtain water in their homes without cisterns, wells, or manual "toting" of water in buckets from the spring.

Population: 6178

Iowa State Normal School is renamed the Iowa State Teacher's College.

Frank Cotton opens the Cotton Theatre in downtown Cedar Falls.

Sartori Memorial Hospital is constructed with funds bequeathed by Joseph Sartori, Sr.

The Cotton Theatre is renamed the Regent Theatre.  Merle Blaire, the new owner and manager, promotes his theatre through imaginative marketing schemes, such as bicycle, nylon and other prize giveways.

The Cedar Falls Ice Company's IIce House is constructed on the bank of the Cedar River.

The second Lincoln School is constructed to replace the 1863 building.

The Iowa State Teacher's College is renamed the State College of Iowa

Jul 22 - The Old Central section of the State College of Iowa burns to the ground. 

The State College of Iowa is renamed the University of Northern Iowa.

The mill race is filled in to become the current First Street.

The Cedar Falls Community Theatre is organized with the assistance of the Cedar Falls Recreation Center.

The Regent Theatre is gifted to the Cedar Falls Community Theatre (CFCT) organization by the Blair Family and Beck Trust.   The Cedar Falls community raises $1.2 million to renovate and restore the building.

June -  The Regent Theatre is renamed the Oster-Regent Theatre.

The third Lincoln Elementary School is constructed to replace the 1924 building.