Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 21, 1839, the Iowa Territory's Legislative Assembly created Iowa City to relocate the capital from Burlington to a more central location. Iowa City officially served as Iowa’s capital city from 1841 until 1857. The Territorial Legislature sent out two men, John Ronalds and Chauncey Swan, in May of 1839 to select a location along the Iowa River in what became Johnson County. The men selected a site overlooking the river, and a survey laying out the town from Brown