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West Branch, Cedar County, Iowa, USA

Tree: Nederlandse voorouders

Notes:
West Branch is a city in Cedar and Johnson counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 2,342 as of July 2009, a 7% growth since the 2000 census. It is the birthplace of the only American president born in Iowa, Herbert Hoover.



The Johnson County portion of West Branch is part of the Iowa City, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area.



History



The city of West Branch was first settled in the mid-19th century by Quakers from Ohio. Its name is derived from the meeting place of the West Branch Quakers, and the location of the city on the west branch of the Wapsinonoc Creek. Most of Main Street is part of the West Branch Commercial Historic District.



Before the Civil War, areas in and around West Branch were stops of the Underground Railroad. Abolitionist John Brown once stayed at the Maxson farm east of West Branch. In 2008, archaeologists found evidence of unmarked graves in nearby North Liberty Cemetery while investigating an account of 17 escaped slaves who died before reaching Canada.



President Herbert Hoover was born in West Branch in 1874. The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library-Museum was dedicated here by Hoover and his close friend, President Harry Truman, in 1962. The Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, which includes the Library-Museum, the Hoover Birthplace Cottage and the gravesites of President and Lou Henry Hoover, was authorized by Congress on August 12, 1965.



The West Branch Community School District has about 800 students and includes three schools: Hoover Elementary, West Branch Middle School and West Branch High School.



The city's industrial park is home to a major distribution center of Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble. The building is 550,000 square feet (51,000 m2) and as of 2007, is undergoing an expansion. The industrial park is also home to Plastic Products, Wausau and, Acciona Windpower North America.



West Branch has been one of 36 communities in the Main Street Iowa program since being accepted on June 1, 2006. The program encourages downtown economic development through historic preservation.



The Gruwell and Crew General Store is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, but it has been named as one of the most endangered historic properties in Iowa by the Iowa Historic Preservation Alliance

Birth

Matches 1 to 5 of 5

	Last Name, Given Name(s)	Birth		Person ID	Tree
1	Jongewaard, Cornelius	Mon 19 Dec 1892	West Branch, Cedar County, Iowa, USA	I450976	Nederlandse voorouders
2	Jongewaard, Helena	May 1896	West Branch, Cedar County, Iowa, USA	I450977	Nederlandse voorouders
3	Jongewaard, Jennie	1903	West Branch, Cedar County, Iowa, USA	I450978	Nederlandse voorouders
4	Jongewaard, Lester	Tue 30 Jan 1906	West Branch, Cedar County, Iowa, USA	I450980	Nederlandse voorouders
5	Jongewaard, Stanley I.	1909	West Branch, Cedar County, Iowa, USA	I450982	Nederlandse voorouders

Death

Matches 1 to 2 of 2

	Last Name, Given Name(s)	Death		Person ID	Tree
1	Jongewaard, Helena	Aft 1900	West Branch, Cedar County, Iowa, USA	I450977	Nederlandse voorouders
2	Jongewaard, Jennie	Aft 1910	West Branch, Cedar County, Iowa, USA	I450978	Nederlandse voorouders