Riverside, IA

Riverside is a Washington County city along the English River at the intersection of Iowa Highway 22 and U.S. 218, the Avenue of the Saints. The 2020 census counted 1,060 residents. The city sits about twelve miles south of Iowa City, and its school system keeps an elementary school in town while Highland Middle and High School sit seven miles southeast. The river valley, four-lane highway, volunteer emergency services, and three city parks make Riverside a service point for the rural area around it.

ATTRMarshall Astor / CC BY-SA 2.0

Riverside was established in 1872 and incorporated in 1882. The Voyage Home-Riverside History Museum combines local history displays with a room devoted to the town's official future-birthplace connection to fictional Captain James T. Kirk. The Riverside Casino and Golf Resort, which opened east of town in 2006, adds a major employer and event complex to the surrounding landscape. City parks, the museum, school, churches, and highway access give Riverside a civic life that reaches beyond the riverfront blocks.