Villisca, Iowa

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Villisca is a city in Montgomery County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,344 at the 2000 census.

Villisca is the site of what are arguably the most notorious unsolved murders in Iowa history. On 10 June 1912, six members of an entire family and two young houseguests were killed with an axe by an unknown assailant. The case has inspired two published books - Roy Marshall's Villisca and Stephen Bowman's fictionalized Morning Ran Red, as well as several motion picture projects, including an extensively researched award-winning historical documentary by Kelly and Tammy Rundle entitled Villisca: Living with a Mystery [1], released theatrically in 2004, with national release in the fall of 2006; and Haunting Villisca [2], a not-yet-released narrative project which combines a fictionalized present-day scenario with scenes suggested by courtroom transcripts, folklore and current paranormal investigations of the house where the murders occurred.

[edit] Geography

Villisca is located at 40°55′45″N, 94°58′41″W (40.929115, -94.978162)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.9 km² (1.9 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,344 people, 576 households, and 347 families residing in the city. The population density was 271.7/km² (703.9/mi²). There were 636 housing units at an average density of 128.6/km² (333.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.81% White, 0.07% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.37% from other races, and 0.37% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.37% of the population.

There were 576 households out of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.6% were non-families. 34.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.87.

Population Spread: 24.0% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 22.8% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 24.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 84.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,694, and the median income for a family was $34,345. Males had a median income of $28,500 versus $20,292 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,067. About 9.3% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.8% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.

The town's main claim to fame is the Villisca Axe Murder of 1912, in which eight people were killed. The house where the deed took place is preserved as a museum:[3]). More history about the infamous murders and the town are available at: [4] and [5].