Carlisle, Iowa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Carlisle is a city in Warren County and Polk County, Iowa. The population was 3,497 at the 2000 census. The city is part of the Des Moines metropolitan area.

The city received considerable media attention in 1997 when Carlisle residents Kenny and Bobbi McCaughey (pronounced "McCoy") became the parents of the world's first surviving set of septuplets.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 External links
4 References

[edit] Geography

Carlisle is located at 41°30′4″N, 93°29′25″W (41.501203, -93.490351)^GR1, between the North and Middle Rivers, near their confluences with the Des Moines River.^[1] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.2 km² (4.3 mi²). None of the area is covered with water.

The Summerset Trail has its northern terminus at Carlisle.^[2]

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 3,497 people, 1,338 households, and 974 families residing in the city. The population density was 311.8/km² (807.8/mi²). There were 1,379 housing units at an average density of 123.0/km² (318.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.06% White, 0.17% African American, 0.34% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.49% from other races, and 0.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.14% of the population.

There were 1,338 households out of which 38.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.0% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.2% were non-families. 23.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.6% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 89.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $47,528, and the median income for a family was $53,924. Males had a median income of $39,286 versus $26,162 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,467. About 2.8% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.5% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.

Carlisle, Iowa - a historical and cultural profile

Carlisle is a small community located at the southeast fringe of the Des Moines metropolitan area. It offers a true blend of city and country living. Most of the residential areas are located in Warren County on rolling hills between the North and Middle Rivers. The commercial areas consist of a traditional downtown centered at First and School Streets, a commercial corridor along Highway 5 from Garfield Street to Scotch Ridge Road and a gateway commercial/industrial area at the intersection of Highway 5 and the Highway 65/5 beltway.

Residents of Carlisle are only 15 minutes from the Des Moines International airport, 20 minutes from downtown Des Moines, Iowa’s capital and largest city and 25 minutes from the Jordan Creek Town Center, Iowa’s premier retail area. An extra benefit is that residents who commute to work in the metro area always have the morning and evening sun at their backs rather than in their eyes.

The original settlement in the Carlisle area was called Dudley and was located at Keokuk’s Bend on the Des Moines River, approximately 3 miles east of present day Carlisle. Dudley was founded by John Griffin, the Assistant Surgeon of the Fort Des Moines Dragoons and laid out by Jeremiah Church in February, 1846 several months before the City of Fort Des Moines was first laid out in July, 1846. Dudley was destroyed by the great flood of 1851. That same year the settlement was relocated to the present site of Carlisle and surveyed by James Laverty for Jeremiah Church and Daniel Moore on the Moore homestead. The original town plat was the area bounded by School Street (then called South Street) on the south, Garfield Street (then called East Street) on the east, Elm Street (then called North Street) on the north and Fourth Street on the west. It was renamed Carlisle, after the city of the same name in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.

During the 1860’s the Iowa and Minnesota Railroad acquired right of way for a planned railroad line from Des Moines to the state line and eventually to Kansas City. The right of way was transferred to the Des Moines, Indianola and Missouri Railroad Company which constructed a line from Des Moines through Carlisle to Indianola in 1871. A branch to Winterset was added in 1872. These lines were consolidated into the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway Company in 1880.

In 1912-13 the Saint Paul and Kansas City Short Line Railroad Company established the short line junction at Dean Avenue and SE 18th Street in Des Moines and constructed another line south through Carlisle. It extended through Hartford and Beech to Allerton, Iowa and became known as the short line between Des Moines and Kansas City. It was leased to the Rock Island and eventually consolidated into the Rock Island system in 1948. During the 1950's it was the route of the Twin Star Rocket passenger train between the Twin Cities and Houston. The Winterset branch was abandoned in 1958. Although the Indianola branch was abandoned in 1998, it was successfully rail-banked and converted into the Summerset bicycle/pedestrian trail. The Rock Island went bankrupt in 1979 and the Chicago and North Western Railroad acquired the main line. The CNW merged with the Union Pacific Railroad in 1995. The UP currently operates 12 to 15 trains daily through Carlisle and the line is known as the “spine line” because it parallels the spine of the North American continent.

Carlisle’s original downtown was located on Market Street between 1st and 3rd Street but with the coming of the railroad in 1871, it was moved to its present location along School and First Streets. As the settlement began to grow the Bank of Carlisle was founded in 1895 and by the early 20th century, general stores, drugstores, hardware stores, livery stables, a hotel, a bakery, a barber shop, a doctor’s office, a harness shop, a blacksmith shop and other businesses had been established.

The first industry in the area was the Parmelee Lumber and Flour Mill which was built in 1843 at the foot of Watts Hill on the Middle River just east of Carlisle and operated into the 1870’s. This mill provided lumber and shingles for the original buildings at Fort Des Moines. The Keeney Hoover mill was established near the original highway ford on the North River in the 1840’s. The Carlisle Grist Mill which later became the Nicholson Flouring Mill was established in 1856 just east of downtown. The Nicholson Mill later burned to the ground in the great fire of 1888.

Another major industry took advantage of the clay deposits along the North River. McKissick Brick and Tile operated on the west side of the tracks from 1908 to 1930 and Carlisle Brick and Tile operated on the east side of the tracks from 1936 into the 1960’s. In the 1950’s the Heartland Coop grain elevator and the General Mills flour mill and packaged foods plant were established at Avon and later annexed into Carlisle.

Carlisle currently has a population of over 3,500 and boasts over 100 businesses and industries, including the only municipal electric utility in the Des Moines metro area. Carlisle’s attractions include North Park which hosts an annual July 4th celebration and features a Veterans Memorial Honor Roll, a log cabin, walking trails, community gardens, picnic shelters and access to the North River; Lindhardt Park which is home to youth baseball and softball activities; the Carlisle family aquatic center; the north trailhead of the Summerset Trail and several neighborhood playgrounds and natural areas. Other annual events include a Garden Party in the spring, a Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at the end of November and Light Up Carlisle, an annual Christmas celebration in December.

The Scotch Ridge Center is an attraction along the North River at the Highway 5 gateway to Carlisle that is being developed as a place for celebrating and learning about the area’s environmental and cultural heritage. Its primary feature will be an extremely rare transect of several distinct soil-based ecosystems including riparian wetlands, riparian woodlands, mesic prairie, upland prairie and oak savannah, all within walking distance of one another.

The Carlisle School District maintains a middle school campus in Hartford and a high school/elementary school campus in Carlisle. A new middle school campus is being developed in conjunction with a major residential and commercial development along Scotch Ridge Road. The Carlisle Schools offer a year round variety of athletic and cultural events and the students consistently outperform the state and national averages in both college entrance exam scores and graduation percentages. The class sizes also consistently rank below the state and national averages. The district’s school-to-work program provides students with hands-on job experience before they graduate. The Carlisle Schools are large enough to offer a broad range of activities but small enough so that everyone can participate in them.

With its rich history, its diversity of neighborhoods and recreational opportunities and its easy access to the urban amenities of the metro area, Carlisle is truly “the natural choice” for business, personal and professional development. Because of its strategic and locational advantages, Carlisle is poised to benefit from the economic growth that is expected to occur in the greater Des Moines area.