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is a city in Poweshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,105 at the 2000 census. Grinnell was named after Josiah Bushnell Grinnell and is the home of Grinnell College.
Grinnell was founded in 1854 by Josiah B. Grinnell. By 1880 Grinnell had a population of around 2000. Located at the junction of two railway lines (east-west line of the Rock Island Railroad and the north-south Minneapolis & St Louis (M&St L) Railroad) it became and remains the largest community in Poweshiek County. Grinnell was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Grinnell is also home to Grinnell College, the first college established west of the Mississippi. On June 17, 1882 a tornado destroyed most of the college campus and much of the community and caused a death toll near 100. In 1889 fire destroyed most of the downtown area. In the early 1900s Grinnell was home to one of the pioneer's of modern aviation, Billy Robinson . A photographic history of Billy's aviation accomplishments is available as part of the Iowa Heritage Digital Collections Project. Grinnell was also home to Spaulding Manufacturing. H.W. Spaulding began making carriages and spring wagons in Grinnell, Iowa in 1876. In 1909 the Spaulding Manufacturing Company added automobiles to its production line. Spaulding automobiles were known for their quality construction from rugged materials. Automobile production ceased at the Spaulding factory in 1916 when it could no longer compete with the cheaper Ford automobile. Historical photographs of Spaulding products are also available from the Iowa Heritage Digital Collection. The Spaulding factory site will soon become home to the Spaulding Center for Transportation/Iowa Transportation Museum.