| Sheldon, Iowa | |
|---|---|
| — City — | |
| Motto: Families Come First | |
| Location of Sheldon, Iowa | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Iowa |
| Counties | O'Brien, Sioux |
| Area | |
| • Total | 4.4 sq mi (11.4 km2) |
| • Land | 4.4 sq mi (11.4 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,427 ft (435 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| • Total | 4,914 |
| • Density | 1,119.6/sq mi (432.3/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 51201 |
| Area code(s) | 712 |
| FIPS code | 19-72390 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0461558 |
Sheldon is a city in O'Brien and Sioux Counties in the U.S. state of Iowa, along the Floyd River. The population was 4,914 at the 2000 census; it is the largest city in O'Brien County.
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Sheldon was founded in 1872 and named after the railroad man Israel Sheldon. It was early a strategic location on the rail for businesses from as far away as Minneapolis and Omaha. Today, the city is at the crossroads of Iowa Highway 60 and U.S. Highway 18. In 1961, the city made headlines when it was revealed that Burnice Geiger had embezzled more than two million dollars from her father's bank. Today, the city is most known for its annual display of marigolds and the moniker of its local schools' athletic teams - the ORABS. Sheldon High School also hosts the Sheldon High School Summer Theatre program. Sheldon is the home of Northwest Iowa Community College and Village Northwest Unlimited. Sheldon, Iowa was briefly mentioned in the Jack Kerouac novel On the Road. (Shelton, Iowa is mentioned on page 18 as the place that Eddie hates ever since he stepped out on the platform to smoke, and references Davenport and the Rock Island train, so this is most likely a fictional town near the Quad Cities.) Sheldon was also mentioned on page 13 of the Tim O'Brien book If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home: "Together we watched trombones and crepe-paper floats move down mainstreet. The bands and floats represented Sheldon, Tyler, Sibley, Jackson, and a dozen other neighboring towns".
Sheldon is located at (43.181180, -95.848123).[1]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.4 square miles (11.4 km²).None of the area is covered with water.
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1880 | 730 |
|
|
| 1890 | 1,478 | 102.5% | |
| 1900 | 2,282 | 54.4% | |
| 1910 | 2,941 | 28.9% | |
| 1920 | 3,488 | 18.6% | |
| 1930 | 3,320 | −4.8% | |
| 1940 | 3,768 | 13.5% | |
| 1950 | 4,001 | 6.2% | |
| 1960 | 4,251 | 6.2% | |
| 1970 | 4,535 | 6.7% | |
| 1980 | 5,003 | 10.3% | |
| 1990 | 4,904 | −2.0% | |
| 2000 | 4,914 | 0.2% | |
| 2010 | 5,188 | 5.6% | |
| Iowa Data Center [2] | |||
As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 4,914 people, 2,006 households, and 1,285 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,119.6 people per square mile (432.2/km²). There were 2,126 housing units at an average density of 484.4 per square mile (187.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.48% White, 0.43% African American, 0.06% Native American, 0.77% Asian, 0.81% from other races, and 0.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.56% of the population.
There were 2,006 households out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.5% were married couples living together, 4.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 31.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.0% 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 2.96.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.6% under the age of 18, 10.8% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 95.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,058, and the median income for a family was $43,346. Males had a median income of $31,026 versus $20,604 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,254. About 3.6% of families and 7.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.1% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.
Sheldon is home to a KIWA-AM, and KIWA-FM, and to Iowa Information, Inc., publishers of the Sheldon Mail-Sun and The N'West Iowa REVIEW. The latter has been named the state's Newspaper of the Year 13 times and named the best weekly in the United States by the National Newspaper Association from 2000 to 2005 and again in 2007.
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