<P> The first permanent settler , Osgood Shepherd , arrived in 1838 . When Cedar Rapids was first established in 1838 , William Stone named the town Columbus . In 1841 it was resurveyed and renamed by N.B. Brown and his associates . They named the town Cedar Rapids for the rapids in the Cedar River at the site , and the river itself was named for the large number of red cedar trees that grew along its banks . Cedar Rapids was incorporated on January 15 , 1849 . Cedar Rapids annexed the community of Kingston in 1870 . </P>
where did the name cedar rapids come from
large number of red cedar trees that grew along its banks