Ottumwa, Iowa

"Ottumwa" redirects here. For the place in Kansas, see Ottumwa, Kansas. For the community in South Dakota, see Ottumwa, South Dakota.
Ottumwa, Iowa
City

Location of Ottumwa in the state of Iowa.
Coordinates: 41°0′47″N 92°24′53″W / 41.01306°N 92.41472°W / 41.01306; -92.41472Coordinates: 41°0′47″N 92°24′53″W / 41.01306°N 92.41472°W / 41.01306; -92.41472
Country  United States
State  Iowa
County Wapello
Government
 • Type Mayor/Council
 • Mayor Tom Lazio[1]
Area[2]
 • Total 16.53 sq mi (42.81 km2)
 • Land 15.86 sq mi (41.08 km2)
 • Water 0.67 sq mi (1.74 km2)
Elevation 673 ft (205 m)
Population (2010)[3]
 • Total 25,023
 • Estimate (2013)[4] 24,840
 • Rank 20th in Iowa
 • Density 1,577.7/sq mi (609.2/km2)
Time zone CST (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code 52501
Area code(s) 641
FIPS code 19-60465
GNIS feature ID 0459952
Website http://www.cityofottumwa.org/

Ottumwa (/əˈtʌmwə/ ə-TUM-wə) is a city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States.[5] The population was 25,023 at the 2010 census. Located in southeastern Iowa, the city is split into northern and southern halves by the Des Moines River.

History

Map of Ottumwa from 1908, showing the railroads and coal mines (shown in red) of the region.

The young town was severely damaged during the Flood of 1851.[6]

In 1857, coal was being mined from the McCready bank, a site along Bear Creek four miles west of Ottumwa. In 1868, Brown and Godfrey opened a drift mine four miles northwest of town. By 1872, Brown and Godfrey employed 300 men and had an annual production of 77,000 tons. In 1880, the Phillips Coal and Mining Company opened a mine two miles northwest of town. In subsequent years, they opened 5 more shafts in the Phillips and Rutledge neighborhoods, just north of Ottumwa.[7] The Phillips number 5 shaft was 140 feet deep, with a 375 horse power steam hoist.[8] By 1889, the state mine inspector’s report listed 15 mine shafts in Ottumwa.[9] In 1914, the Phillips Fuel Company produced over 100,000 tons of coal, ranking among the top 24 coal producers in the state.[10]

Coal mining was so important to the local economy that, from 1890 to 1892, the Coal Palace was erected in Ottumwa as an exhibition center.

John Morrell & Company played a significant role in the development of the City of Ottumwa from 1877 to 1973. The complex typified meat packing as it developed in the midwest during the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century.[11]

Presidential visits

Because of the Iowa caucuses, Ottumwa is no stranger to visits by presidential hopefuls. On five occasions a sitting U.S. President has visited the Bridge City:[12]

Geography

Ottumwa's longitude and latitude coordinates in decimal form are 41.012917, −92.414817.[17]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.53 square miles (42.81 km2), of which, 15.86 square miles (41.08 km2) is land and 0.67 square miles (1.74 km2) is water.[2]

Northeastern Wapello County contains large deposits of coal, and there are also large deposits of clay in the region, which played an important role in the industrial development of Ottumwa.[18]

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
18601,632—
18705,214219.5%
18809,00472.7%
189014,00155.5%
190018,19730.0%
191022,01221.0%
192023,0034.5%
193028,07522.0%
194031,57012.4%
195033,6316.5%
196033,8710.7%
197029,610−12.6%
198027,381−7.5%
199024,488−10.6%
200024,9982.1%
201025,0230.1%
Est. 201424,682[19]−1.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[20]
Wapello County Courthouse

2010 census

As of the census[3] of 2010, there were 25,023 people, 10,251 households, and 6,208 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,577.7 inhabitants per square mile (609.2/km2). There were 11,257 housing units at an average density of 709.8 per square mile (274.1/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 90.2% White, 11.3% Hispanic or Latino, 1.9% African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 4.5% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races.

There were 10,251 households of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.1% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.4% were non-families. 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.97.

The median age in the city was 37.4 years. 23.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.8% were from 25 to 44; 25% were from 45 to 64; and 16% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 24,998 people, 10,383 households, and 6,530 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,582.2 people per square mile (610.9/km²). There were 11,038 housing units at an average density of 698.6 per square mile (269.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.33% White, 1.27% African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.78% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.38% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.76% of the population.

There were 10,383 households out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.8% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.88.

Age spread: 22.9% under the age of 18, 10.9% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,174, and the median income for a family was $37,302. Males had a median income of $31,222 versus $20,934 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,040. About 10.9% of families and 15.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.3% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

"Video Game Capital of the World"

As the home of Twin Galaxies, Ottumwa was proclaimed the "Video Game Capital of the World" by a mayoral decree issued on November 30, 1982, by Ottumwa Mayor Jerry Parker.[21] The city's proclamation was recognized by U.S. Senator Charles Grassley.[22] In connection with this proclamation, the city hosted the first North American Video Olympics in the fall of 1982.[23]

In popular culture

View of Canteen Lunch in the Alley

Education

Ottumwa High School is part of the Ottumwa public school system.

Higher education

Ottumwa is the home of Indian Hills Community College, a two-year community college. Between 1928 and 1980, it was also home to Ottumwa Heights College, a women's college that merged with Indian Hills in 1979 to create one institution. Indian Hills is located at the former Ottumwa Heights campus.

Economy

Top employers

According to Ottumwa's 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[26] the top employers in the city were:

# Employer # of Employees
1 JBS Swift & Co. 2,400
2 John Deere Ottumwa Works 940
3 Ottumwa Regional Health Center 750
4 Ottumwa Community School District 616
5 Hy-Vee 426
6 Walmart 364
7 Indian Hills Community College 322
8 City of Ottumwa 263
9 Winger Contracting Company 242
10 Dr Pepper Snapple Group 199

Media

Paired with Kirksville, Missouri, Ottumwa is a media market region, ranked #199 by Nielsen.

Radio

Frequency Power in watts Call sign Nickname Format Owner Web site Notes
1240 AM1000KBIZYour news and information leaderNews/TalkO-Town Communications
740 AM229 day, 10 nightKMZNHot Country 740Country music *simulcast with KBOE FMJomast Corporation
1480 AM250 day, 17 nightKLEEGood time oldiesOldiesO-Town CommunicationsKlee was sold by FMC Broadcasting to O-town Communications on December 24, 2013
104.9 FM50,000KBOEHot Country 104.9Country musicJomast Corporation
105.3 FM34,000KEDBIowa's true oldies channelOldiesHoney Creek Broadcasting
96.7 FM10,000 KIICThunder CountryClassic countryWaveguide Communications, Inc.
101.5 FM49,000KKSI101.5 Kiss FMClassic rockO-Town Communications
98.7 FM100,000KMGOIowa's Country. 98.7 KMGOCountry musicKMGO Inc.
97.7 FM19,000KOTM97.7 Tom FMTop 40 (CHR)O-Town CommunicationsKotm was sold by FMC Broadcasting to O-town Communications on December 24, 2013
104.3 FM23,500KRKNNew Country 104.3Country musicO-Town Communications
92.7 FM50,000KTWAToday's hits & yesterdays favoritesAdult contemporaryO-Town Communications
91.1 FM1,450KICW Classical music / Iowa Public RadioUniversity of Northern Iowa

*Some radio stations licensed to other nearby cities.

Television stations

Print

The Ottumwa Courier is the primary daily newspaper,

Online

The Ottumwa Post http://www.ottumwapost.com

Infrastructure

Transportation

View of Amtrak passenger rail station and platform.
Detail view of Amtrak passenger rail station.

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to the Ottumwa Amtrak station, operating its California Zephyr daily in both directions between Chicago, Illinois, and Emeryville, California, across the San Francisco Bay from San Francisco.

Ottumwa Transit Authority operates bus services throughout the Ottumwa area.[27] The fixed-route system includes five routes and a shopping shuttle.[28] It also operates a para-transit service known as Ottumwa Transit Authority Lift[29] and Job Access Reverse Commute (JARC), a dial-a-ride service geared towards employees.[30] The five routes that operate Monday through Friday are: #1 North, #2 East West, #3 South Residential, #4 South Commercial, and #7 Airport. There are also two routes that operate on Saturday only; no routes operate on Sunday.[31]

10–15 Regional Transit Agency provides a regional dial-a-ride service throughout Appanoose, Davis, Jefferson, Keokuk, Lee, Lucas, Mahaska, Monroe, Van Buren, Wapello and Wayne counties.[32][33]

Currently, U.S. Route 34 and Iowa Highway 149 serve the town, replacing a former segment of U.S. Highway 63. Route 63 now bypasses the town as part of the Burlington to Des Moines expressway. The Jefferson Street Viaduct over the Des Moines River is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Railroads

The BNSF Railway has tracks through Ottumwa. This is a major corridor in the Chicago-Omaha line that is double track, and western coal makes up a large percentage of the freight carried on this line. The BNSF tracks travel under U.S. Highway 34, pass through the business district, under the U.S. Highway 63 bridge, cross the Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad tracks at grade, exit Ottumwa, and later cross over the Des Moines River on their way to Albia, Iowa, and later Omaha, Nebraska.

The Iowa, Chicago & Eastern Railway was acquired by the Canadian Pacific in 2008. Ottumwa is located on the Davenport, Iowa, to Kansas City, Mo. line and is a crew change point.

The Norfolk Southern Railway has trackage rights over the BNSF through Ottumwa.

Historic Preservation

Ottumwa has many historic structures as well as several historic districts that are listed on the National Register. The City, has an active Historic Preservation Commission that has worked to preserve some of the most important structures in the community since 1989.[34] The following structures and districts are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Historic Districts

Historic Structures

Notable people

Tom Arnold

Namesake

References

  1. ↑ Allt, Kate. "Tom Lazio takes office as Mayor of Ottumwa". Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  2. 1 2 "US Gazetteer files 2010". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
  3. 1 2 "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Population Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  6. ↑ Aldrich, Charles (1903). The Annals Of Iowa. Des Moines, Iowa: Historical Department of Iowa. p. 411.
  7. ↑ Lees, James H. (1909). History of Coal Mining in Iowa. Des Moines, Iowa: Iowa Geological Survey. p. 541.
  8. ↑ Hinds, Henry (1909). The Coal Deposits of Iowa. Des Moines, Iowa: Iowa Geological Survey. p. 298.
  9. ↑ Fourth Biennial Report Of The State Mine Inspectors To The Governor Of The State Of Iowa For The Years 1888 And 1889. Des Moines, Iowa. 1889. p. 33.
  10. ↑ Saward, Frederick E. (1915). The Coal Trade. p. 65.
  11. ↑ "John Morrell & Company Meat Packing Plant, 316 South Iowa Street, Ottumwa, Wapello County, IA".
  12. 1 2 3 4 Toopes, Cindy (April 23, 2010). "Four sitting presidents have visited Ottumwa". Ottumwa Courier. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Rathbun Lake". US Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
  14. ↑ "Biography of Richard Milhous Nixon" (PDF). Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum. p. 1. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
  15. ↑ Shaver, Pat (April 28, 2010). "Participants, crowd relish Obama visit". Ottumwa Courier. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
  16. ↑ Deffenbaugh, Greg (September 18, 2012). "Vice President Biden campaigns in southeast Iowa". KTVO-TV via website. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
  17. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  18. ↑ A Brief History of Wapello County, Iowa by Tom Quinn, n.d.
  19. ↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014". Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  21. ↑ Kalning, Kristin. "Ottumwa, video game capital of the world? - On the Level- msnbc.com". www.msnbc.msn.com. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
  22. ↑ "Congratulations on becoming "Video Game Capital"". www.twingalaxies.com. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
  23. ↑ "1982 North American Video Game Olympics program cover (GIF Image, 370x574 pixels)". www.twingalaxies.com. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
  24. ↑ http://articles.philly.com/1993-04-18/entertainment/25979348_1_roseanne-arnold-tom-arnold-jackie-thomas-show
  25. ↑ "TV Acres". Restaurants, Bars & Nightclubs. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  26. ↑ City of Ottumwa CAFR
  27. ↑ "Iowa Office of Public Transit". Archived from the original on July 5, 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  28. ↑ "SCHEDULES". Archived from the original on May 5, 2005. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  29. ↑ "OTA LIFT". Archived from the original on May 5, 2005. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  30. ↑ "JARC". Archived from the original on May 5, 2005. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  31. ↑ "OTA Timetable – December 2011" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 19, 2012. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  32. ↑ "Iowa Office of Public Transit". Archived from the original on September 14, 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  33. ↑ "10–15 Transit". Archived from the original on February 18, 2005. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  34. ↑ "Municode". Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  35. ↑ Tom Arnold Biography (1959–)
  36. ↑ "Gemini 10 News Release No. 3" (PDF). NASA. July 13, 1966. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  37. ↑ Shuman, Baird (2002). Great American Writers: Twentieth Century. Marshall Cavendish. ISBN 9780761472407. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  38. ↑ "Political Graveyard". LOVELESS. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
  39. ↑ Iowa General Assembly-Jack E. McCoy
  40. ↑ "Famous Iowans – Morris, Carol". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  41. ↑ http://www.desmoinesregister.com. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  42. ↑ "BASEBALL-Reference". Jake Weimer. Retrieved December 19, 2010.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ottumwa, Iowa.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Ottumwa.


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