It was named by Lewis and Clark for a bluff where they met the Otoe tribe on August 2, 1804. The first Council Bluff (which is singular) was on the Nebraska side of the river at Fort Atkinson, about 20 miles (32 km) northwest of the current city of Council Bluffs. History 1804–1843: Pottawattamie reservation and Caldwell's Camp The Omaha metropolitan region of which Council Bluffs is a part, is the 58th largest in the United States, with an estimated population of 967,604 (2020). rail network at Council Bluffs.Ĭouncil Bluffs' population was 62,799 at the time of the 2020 census, making it the state's tenth most populous city. In 1869, the first transcontinental railroad to California was connected to the existing U.S. Kanesville is also the northernmost anchor town of the other emigrant trails because there was a steam-powered boat which ferried the settlers' wagons and cattle across the Missouri River. Kanesville was the historic starting point of the Mormon Trail.
Until about 1853 Council Bluffs was known as Kanesville. It is located on the east bank of the Missouri River, across from Omaha, Nebraska.
It is the most populous city in Southwest Iowa, as well as the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area. Satellite photo showing Council Bluffs and Omaha, Nebraska Courthouse, 1915Ĭouncil Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States.
