Postville, Iowa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Postville is a city in Allamakee County, Iowa near the junction of four counties and at the intersection of US Highways 18 and 52 and Iowa Highway 51, far from any airport. The population was 2,273 at the 2000 census. The city is located in the southwestern corner of Allamakee County in a quad county or four corner region where four counties meet in the same spot. Clayton County is just to the south of town, Winneshiek County is just to the west, and Fayette County is located just to the southwest of Postville.

1 History
2 Economy
3 Geography
4 Demographics
5 External links

[edit] History

Predominantly German and Norwegian for much of its existence, a group of Hasidic Jews of the Lubavitch movement from New York purchased a Kosher slaughterhouse there in 1987. Since then, Postville has seen a large influx of many peoples, especially Ukrainians, Russians, Mexicans, Guatemalans and Filipinos. The town has been the focus of much attention in seeing the Postville natives interact with the very different newcomers of their town. A book on the town, Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America (ISBN 0-15-100652-0) was written by Stephen Bloom, a professor at the University of Iowa.

Although there has rarely existed outright hostility between the Postville natives and newcomers, there has often been tension between them, especially among the Hasidic community. In September 1991, a Jew from Postville robbed a convenience store in Decorah, Iowa, seriously wounding the clerk. This event drew a lot of negative attention towards the new Jewish community moving into Postville. Another attempted murder within the Hasidic community and a murder within in Hispanic community in 2000 furthered disenchantment between Postville natives and newcomers. Other religious differences have existed as well. For example, the decision of putting up Christmas decorations in the downtown district proved to be more difficult than before, and was a major argument on the city council in 2002.

Postville was also the boyhood home of 1946 Nobel laureate John R. Mott.

The name of the Orthodox synagogue in Postville is Congregation Ahavat Israel. The main Latino restaurant is Sabor Latino.

[edit] Economy

Postville's growth during the last 15 years has been due two the presence of two large meat processing plants, Agriprocessors [1] and Iowa Turkey Products. Agriprocessors, the kosher meat plant, is the largest of its type in the world, which as of December 2004 employs about 700 people and purchases $100 million worth of livestock annually. Iowa Turkey Products, which burnt in December 2003, was another major employer in the community. The plant hopes to rebuild in Marshall, Minnesota.

[edit] Geography

Postville is located at 43°5′6″N, 91°34′10″W (43.085102, -91.569515)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.4 km² (2.1 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 2,273 people, 792 households, and 548 families residing in the city. The population density was 421.9/km² (1,093.6/mi²). There were 824 housing units at an average density of 153.0/km² (396.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 79.59% White, 0.62% Native American, 0.70% Asian, 17.03% from other races, and 2.07% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 20.63% of the population. Estimates of the Hasidic population range from 150 (American Jewish Year Book) to more than 300.

There were 792 households out of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.6% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.7% were non-families. 25.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.17.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 100.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,667, and the median income for a family was $40,125. Males had a median income of $22,083 versus $16,596 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,264. About 9.4% of families and 12.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.7% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.