What began as a Labor Day excursion for a young Cedar Rapids man ended in a mysterious and violent death that remains unresolved more than a century later.
Alexander McArthur, a 22-year-old laborer from Cedar Rapids, left home on Labor Day, September 4, 1899, carrying about $60 he had earned from work. Despite his father’s advice to put the money in the bank, McArthur boarded an excursion train bound for Davenport, planning to enjoy the holiday and visit the Johnson County Fair in Iowa City before returning home.
He never made it back…