Algona, Iowa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Algona is a city in Kossuth County, Iowa, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 5,741. It is the county seat of Kossuth County^GR6. Ambrose A. Call State Park is located two miles southwest of the city.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Education
4 History

[edit] Geography

Algona is located at 43°4′13″N, 94°13′47″W (43.070274, -94.229726)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.7 km² (4.5 mi²). 11.6 km² (4.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.44%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 5,741 people, 2,434 households, and 1,550 families residing in the city. The population density was 493.7/km² (1,279.4/mi²). There were 2,640 housing units at an average density of 227.0/km² (588.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.38% White, 0.09% African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.80% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.24% from other races, and 0.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.71% of the population.

There were 2,434 households out of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.8% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.3% were non-families. 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.5% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 21.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 87.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,207, and the median income for a family was $41,210. Males had a median income of $31,504 versus $20,667 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,979. About 7.9% of families and 10.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.9% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Education

There are two school systems in Algona. The Algona Community Schools is the pubic school system that runs Algona High School and the pubic elementaries. The Catholic school system is made up of Bishop Garrigan High School and Seton Elementary. These schools were started by Elizabeth Ann Seton.

[edit] History

Algona was founded in 1854 by two brothers, Ambrose and Asa Call, who named the city after the native word for "Algonquin waters".

In 1894, Algona, along with other Iowa communities such as Dysart and Wesley, became part of the project known by the nickname "The Orphan Trains." As the city of New York saw booming immigration, it also invariably saw a rise in the number of orphans in its asylums. Unable to provide adequate care for them, it saw fit to ship nearly 100,000 westward to start a new life with families across America. Algona itself welcomed nearly 100 orphans into the town, many of whom remained lifelong residents.

From 1902 to 1903, Algona played host to the Algona Brownies, a Negro League barnstorming team. Despite winning the league title in 1903, the team disbanded that same year.

Henry Adams Building

The Henry Adams Building, designed by Louis Sullivan in 1913 is located at the northwest corner of East State and Moore streets. Although not designed to be a bank, the building is nonetheless considered to be one of Sullivan's "Jewell Boxes," a series of banks built in the Midwest from 1909 through 1919.

Iowa Congressman Lester Dickinson (Representative 1919-1931; Senator 1931-1937) was a longtime resident of Algona and is buried there.

Algona was the site of a German prisoner of war camp during World War II. From 1943 to 1946 Camp Algona housed nearly 10,000 prisoners, many of whom were put to work on farms owned by Americans now fighting overseas as soldiers. In 2004 a museum opened in the town to commemorate the camp's history ^[1].

[edit] Tourism

In 2003, Algona drew national attention when it announced the purchase of the world's largest Cheeto. It was meant as a plan to bring tourism to the town to see the Cheeto by a local radio DJ. It was temporarily on display at an Algona bar and the unveiling was featured live via satellite on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show.