Elk Horn, Iowa

Elk Horn, Iowa
—  City  —
Location of Elk Horn, Iowa
Coordinates:
Country  United States
State  Iowa
County Shelby
Area
 • Total 0.8 sq mi (2.0 km2)
 • Land 0.8 sq mi (2.0 km2)
 • Water 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation 1,345 ft (410 m)
Population (2000)
 • Total 649
 • Density 844.6/sq mi (326.1/km2)
Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code 51531
Area code(s) 712
FIPS code 19-24780
GNIS feature ID 0456294

Elk Horn is a city in Shelby County, Iowa, United States. The population was 649 at the 2000 census. Elk Horn is known as a center of Danish ethnicity and is home to The Danish Immigrant Museum. Along with the nearby village of Kimballton, the community makes up the largest, rural Danish community outside of Denmark.

Contents

Geography

Elk Horn is located at (41.592694, -95.059615)[1].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 0.8 square miles (2.1 km2), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 649 people, 248 households, and 171 families residing in the city. The population density was 844.6 people per square mile (325.4/km²). There were 261 housing units at an average density of 339.7 per square mile (130.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 99.08% White, 0.15% Native American, 0.62% Asian, and 0.15% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.31% of the population.

There were 248 households out of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.7% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.8% 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 2.73.

In the city the population was spread out with 20.2% under the age of 18, 2.6% from 18 to 24, 17.3% from 25 to 44, 17.6% from 45 to 64, and 42.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 56 years. For every 100 females there were 79.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,333, and the median income for a family was $38,281. Males had a median income of $31,667 versus $21,146 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,412. About 1.2% of families and 2.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.5% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Students from the area attend Elk Horn-Kimballton Community School, which is located in Elk Horn. The school mascots are the "Danes" and "Lady Danes," which represents Elk Horn's Danish ancestry and tradition.

As of 2010, all sports were combined with the Exira "Vikings" and "Vikettes" from Exira, IA to create the Exira-EH-K Spartans; mascot colors now are maroon and black for both schools, the original colors for EH-K were orange and black. And starting in the new school year of 2011, the schools will combine completely. High school and elementary being in Elk Horn, and middle school and junior high being in Exira.

Elk Horn was also the site of the Elk Horn Højskole. This school, founded in 1878 by Danish immigrant Kristian Ostergaard, was the first Danish folk school in America. It served as a magnet for Danish immigrants, drawing them to Elk Horn in great numbers. In 1894, Pastor Kristian Anker, then owner and principal of the Elk Horn Højskole, sold it to the newly formed Danish Lutheran Church in North America for use as a seminary and college. In 1896, the seminary was relocated and consolidated with Trinity Seminary at Dana College in Blair, Nebraska.[3]

References

  1. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
  2. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  3. ^ Elk Horn Højskole Folk School. Dana College

External links

Iowa portal