And on this Corner...
Chauncey Swan's name is familiar today as the name of a parking ramp, but his actions 170 years ago provided the record of his action. After the Territory of Iowa was created from the larger Wisconsin Territory, the first legislature met in 1838 in Burlington. They named Mr. Swan a commissioner in charge of locating a permanent site for the new capitol. A location on the Iowa River was selected and in May 1819, the new town was platted.
Four and one half blocks were designated Church Preserves. A July 31, 1840 act of the Territorial Legislature proclaimed that a church could be deeded a quarter of a block of it would give bond and promise that within three years it would complete a building with a value of at least $1,000. The Board of Trustees of the Methodist Church filed the application, dated December 15, 1840, for the west half of Block 67, and by 1843 the new church was in use. On August 14, 1844, the first Iowa Conference was held in that new building. And the Methodists have been on this corner ever since that time.