Coralville, Iowa

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Coralville is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is a suburb of Iowa City and part of the Iowa City, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 15,123 at the 2000 census; a special census taken by the city in 2003 counted 17,269 residents.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Notable natives
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

Coralville incorporated as a city in 1873. The city's name came from the coral samples that were found in limestone along the Iowa River by a Harvard University zoologist. In its early days Coralville was home to several mills that were powered by a dam along the Iowa River, but all of the mills had closed by 1900.

After World War II Coralville began to grow as many University of Iowa students began to make their homes there. It had only 433 people in 1940, but by 1970 Coralville's population had jumped to 6,130.^[1] The construction of Interstate 80 in the 1960s brought several motels, fast-food restaurants, and gas stations to Coralville.

By the mid-1960's, the independent school district of Coralville was annexed by the Iowa City Community School District. Junior and senior high school students rode buses into Iowa City. Elementary (K-6) students attended Central Elementary School. Kirkwood Elementary school was opened in the fall of 1964, giving the growing town its second school. By the fall of 1968, all high school students from Coralville began attending the newly-opened West High School. In 1971 the district built Northwest Junior High on property just to the south of Kirkwood Elementary, which then began handling 7th and 8th graders who lived west of the Iowa River. In 1997 Wickham Elementary School was opened.

In 1958 the United States Army Corps of Engineers completed Coralville Dam along the Iowa River four miles north of the city, creating Coralville Lake. Except for the Great Flood of 1993, the dam has helped prevent serious flooding in the city. From June through August 1993, all three of Coralville's main transportation links with Iowa City were submerged during the Great Flood of 1993. The economic impact that year was severe, but the city had almost fully recovered within two years.

Coral Ridge Mall

On July 29, 1998, the Coral Ridge Mall opened with more than 100 stores, the largest shopping center in the area. Its construction caused controversy as some worried it would hurt business in downtown Iowa City. Around that time a "city center" area was created along the U.S. Route 6 "strip" near its intersection with 12th Avenue. Coral Ridge Mall's opening would usher in a new era of retail development as big box stores such as Wal-Mart, Kohl's, and Lowe's opened in the area surrounding the mall. This has helped boost taxable sales in Coralville from $146.5 million in 1994 to $513.3 million in 2004.^[2]

Coralville is home to the Iowa Firefighter's Memorial, located just off I-80 at the First Avenue exit.

Coralville is also the location where some 1300 Mormon immigrants stopped in their migration of 1856, having traveled west to Iowa City and the end of the rail line and making camp. They built handcarts out of native woods during their encampment so that an adult could haul a 600-700 pound load and cover about 15 miles per day on foot in their continuing trek to Salt Lake City. A historical marker commemorating the Mormon Handcart Brigade was erected in 1936 by the Iowa Society DAR, with members of the Pilgrim Chapter present. Originally placed just south of 5th Street and west of 10th Street, it was moved in 1998 to S. T. Morrison Park and rededicated by the Nathaniel Fellows Chapter, placed near the entrance and pond.

[edit] Geography

Coralville is located in Johnson County at 41°41′18″N, 91°35′12″W (41.688215, -91.586764)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 26.5 km² (10.2 mi²). 26.4 km² (10.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.39%) is water.

The Iowa River runs along the east edge of Coralville and forms part of the boundary with Iowa City. Interstate 80 runs east-west through Coralville, and most of the city's newer housing subdivisions are located north of I-80. U.S. Highway 6 runs along Coralville's south edge, while Interstate 380, U.S. Highway 218, and Iowa Highway 27 (the Avenue of the Saints) run along the city's west edge. The cloverleaf interchange of I-80 and I-380/U.S. 218/Iowa 27 is divided between the city limits of Coralville and neighboring Tiffin after recent annexations.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 15,123 people, 6,467 households, and 3,317 families residing in the city. The population density was 573.0/km² (1,484.1/mi²). There were 6,754 housing units at an average density of 255.9/km² (662.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 86.97% White, 4.23% African American, 0.34% Native American, 5.20% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.07% from other races, and 2.14% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.04% of the population.

There were 6,467 households out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.3% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.7% were non-families. 34.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.9% under the age of 18, 15.2% from 18 to 24, 40.9% from 25 to 44, 16.4% from 45 to 64, and 5.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 104.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $38,080, and the median income for a family was $57,869. Males had a median income of $35,288 versus $30,356 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,283. About 6.1% of families and 10.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.5% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.