Covington
History – Covington in Iowa |
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Map:
Official Geographical Location:
42 degree 0-26 min North, 91 degree 45-44 min West
Geographical Description:
Situated in Linn County,
The elevation is 784 feet. Covington is in the
Central time zone (GMT -)
History:
- William Blue, born ca. 1841; Farmington, Pennsylvania; died September
2, 1915; Covington, Iowa;
- Spring Grove Cemetery, Covington, Iowa
and Covington Hall, which still stands in the unincorporated Linn County
community of Covington, northwest of Cedar Rapids. The community was a stop on
the railroad, leading to hopes of growth that never materialized.
Photo &
article by Mark Stoffer Hunter
“The recent opening of the long-awaited Highway 100 extension around
west Cedar Rapids includes a couple of new exits onto long-established Linn
County roads.
One connects to the west end of E Avenue NW, which
is one of the oldest Linn County roads with a true east-west trajectory. What
we now call E avenue NW — from Highway 100 east to the Cedar River — is a road
that dates to the early 1840s. North of that exit is Highway 100’s Exit No 3,
which has the names of Cedar Rapids and Covington on the friendly green exit
sign. A smaller sign informs drivers it is also the exit to the Linn County
community of Palo. The road connecting Cedar Rapids to Palo was, for many
years, state Highway 94. It is now designated as a Linn County rural street
named Covington Road, which becomes F Avenue NW as it enters northwest Cedar
Rapids.
The first routing of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St.
Paul Railroad (the Milwaukee Route), as it journeyed west from Marion, led to
the creation of Covington along the old Vinton Road. Plans for the town were
ambitious in the early 1880s. A railroad depot, station grounds, elevator and
stockyards were established by the Milwaukee tracks.
An early Covington plat shows about 100 lots
covering about six-and-a-half city blocks. Seven new streets were laid out,
including Railway Street parallel to the Milwaukee tracks. A general store was
built, as well as the Covington Church. Records show that a post office was
opened for Covington on Dec. 28. 1882. The first postmaster was William F.
Stebbins.
The 1890s through the 1910s were active years for
the little community, which stood at the eastern edge of Clinton Township in
Linn County.
Wonderful accounts of early 20th century Covington
are provided in The History Center’s archives by residents Beulah Armstrong and
Marjorie Stodola. The center of activity was the old Covington General Store,
where all necessities were available in the early 1900s. Kids loved the great
glass candy case; particularly memorable were the square cookie tins with
see-through windows.
In the early 1900s, the passenger railroad cars
would still stop in Covington, taking travelers east to Marion. From there,
they could ride a streetcar into Cedar Rapids. In the 1920s, Covington built a
second and larger town hall, which still stands today, with the name
“Covington” still visible to the main road.
In its early years, many dances and other social
functions were held in the town hall. One particular theatrical event is often
remembered, when Covington’s women put on an original play called “The Old
Maids Convention.” The show filled the town hall and was remembered for
decades. Covington never grew enough to be formally incorporated as a city.
In the 1920s and 1930s, county roads were improved,
and there was no longer a need for Covington to be a passenger railroad stop.
In May 1922, the Covington Post Office was closed and postal service shifted to
the larger community of Palo.
The children of Covington attended classes at the nearby country schools
known as Kline and Stony Point. The old one-room Stony Point School building still stands,
albeit with a leaning bell tower, at the corner where Covington Road meet s
both Rogers Road and Stoney Point Road on the west edge of Cedar Rapids. Stony
Point School had the distinction of being the last one-room school house to
hold classes in Linn County, with its last class in the spring of 1959. The
fate of this striking educational historic landmark is unknown at this time.
With Covington now located just east of the new
Highway 100 exit, the area could see new development in the coming years and
decades.
Here’s hoping any new residential and commercial
projects will consider incorporating the Covington name. • The History Center
in The Cedar RapidsGazette by Mark Stoffer Hunter who is their research. “
Links to other websites:
Covington Destination Guide (Iowa, United States) -
Trip-Suggest
Covington Populated Place Profile / Linn County, Iowa
Data (hometownlocator.com)
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