Birthplace of Iowa’s only President celebrates big birthday

The eastern Iowa town best known for being the birthplace of Herbert Hoover is celebrating its sesquicentennial this weekend. Lifelong West Branch resident Audrey Kofoed is helping organize the Cedar County town’s 150th birthday bash.A parade will run through downtown West Branch this morning followed by all sorts of events, capped off with fireworks tonight. Kofoed says there’s a bit of controversy among residents and historians about the origin of the name West Branch. Some of the first settlers were Quakers from Ohio who belonged to a West Branch meeting. Also, the town is on the west branch of a creek.The religious group, The Society of Friends, migrated to Iowa from Ohio in the 1850s, searching for land. The Hoovers were among those first settlers.