| Boone, Iowa | |
|---|---|
| Location of Boone, Iowa | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | USA |
| State | Iowa |
| County | Boone |
| Township | Des Moines |
| Incorporated | 1849 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | John Slight |
| Area | |
| • Total | 9.02 sq mi (23.4 km2) |
| • Land | 9.02 sq mi (23.4 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,135 ft (346 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 12,661 |
| • Density | 1,403.8/sq mi (542.0/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP codes | 50036-50037 |
| Area code(s) | 515 |
| FIPS code | 19-07480 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0454753 |
| Website | www.boonegov.com |
Boone is a city in and the county seat of Des Moines Township, Boone County, Iowa, United States.[1] It is the principal city of the 'Boone, Iowa Micropolitan Statistical Area', which encompasses all of Boone County. This micropolitan statistical area, along with the 'Ames, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area' comprise the larger 'Ames-Boone, Iowa Combined Statistical Area'. The population of the city was 12,803 at the 2000 census.
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Coal mining played an important part in the early history of the Boone area. Local blacksmiths were already mining coal from the banks of Honey Creek south of what would become Boone in 1849.
Boone was platted as a town in 1865, and incorporated the following year. The Chicago and North Western Transportation Company reached Boone in 1866. In 1868, it was chartered as a city. Commercial mining was spurred by the arrival of the railroad. In 1867, Canfield and Taylor opened a mine just west of town. Their mine shaft was 242 feet deep, and they hauled coal to the railroad by wagon. In 1874, a railroad spur was built to the mine. This mine was taken over by the railroad, and operated for 30 years. There are two coal seams in the Boone area, the upper vein, about 3 feet thick, was always worked using longwall mining, while the lower vein was always mined using room and pillar mining.[2] In 1912, United Mine Workers Local 869 in Boone had 554 members, close to 10% of the population at the time.[3]
Boone is located at (42.061127, −93.886057)[4].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.9 square miles (23 km2), all of it land.
Ledges State Park is located 4 miles south of Boone and is a staple tourist attraction.
| Boone Historical Population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1880 | 3,330 | — |
| 1890 | 6,520 | +95.8% |
| 1900 | 8,880 | +36.2% |
| 1910 | 10,347 | +16.5% |
| 1920 | 12,451 | +20.3% |
| 1930 | 11,886 | −4.5% |
| 1940 | 12,373 | +4.1% |
| 1950 | 12,164 | −1.7% |
| 1960 | 12,468 | +2.5% |
| 1970 | 12,468 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 12,602 | +1.1% |
| 1990 | 12,392 | −1.7% |
| 2000 | 12,803 | +3.3% |
| Source: "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. | ||
As of the census[5] of 2010, there were 12,661 people, 5,428 households, and 3,363 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,433.9 people per square mile (553.6/km²). There were 5,585 housing units at an average density of 625.5 per square mile (241.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.7% White, 0.8% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.4% Asian, and 1.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.0% of the population.
There were 5,428 households out of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.0% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.7% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.94.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.3% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 89.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $43,256. Males had a median income of $32,106 versus $22,119 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,611. About 5.4% of families and 8.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.
Boone is located on US Highway 30. The original Lincoln Highway ran through the center of town, but a new 4-lane highway was built in the late 1960s that bypassed the center of Boone to the south. There is also a network of paved country roads radiating out in all directions.
Boone is served by the mainline of the Union Pacific Railroad which purchased the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad (C&NW) in 1995. Boone was a division and crew change point on the railroad under the Chicago & Northwestern and some of that business remains today. There is a moderate-sized rail yard to the east of the downtown area. Traffic has increased quite a bit and there are some issues with traffic blockage and noise. The locomotives no longer honk their horns in the town proper.
Boone was also the exact midpoint on the Fort Dodge, Des Moines & Southern Railroad, an electric interurban line converted to diesel in 1955 after a flood on the Des Moines River devastated the Fraser hydroelectric powerplant that supplied power to the railroad . It connected with the C&NW downtown. It was purchased by the C&NW in 1968 and subsequently abandoned. The western part of the line to Fraser has been resurrected as the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad, a tourist line.
The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad also ran a branch line into Boone from the southeast. It likewise connected with the C&NW. The line was trimmed back to Luther in the late 1960s and completely abandoned a few years later.
The grocery chain Fareway is based in Boone.
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