Oskaloosa, Iowa

Oskaloosa, Iowa
City
Oskaloosa City Hall Oskaloosa City Hall
Location of Oskaloosa, Iowa
Country	United States
State	Iowa
County	Mahaska
Area
• Total	6.9 sq mi (17.8 km2)
• Land	6.9 sq mi (17.8 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	840 ft (256 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	10,938
• Density	1,593.8/sq mi (615.4/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	52577
Area code	641
FIPS code	19-59925
GNIS feature ID	0459908

Oskaloosa is the county seat of Mahaska County, Iowa, United States.Template:GR The population was 10,938 at the 2000 census.

The City of Oskaloosa has a Mayor-City Council-City Manager form of government under a Home Rule Charter. The Mayor and City Council are elected. The City Council is comprised of seven members who have the responsibility of making decisions regarding rules and regulations pertaining to Oskaloosa.

The Mayor is elected for a two-year term and Council Members are elected to serve for four years. The City Manager is appointed by the City Council. The current Mayor is David Dixon.

Geography

Oskaloosa is located at 41°17′38″N 92°38′40″W (41.293856, -92.644546)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.9 square miles (17.8 km²), of which, 6.9 square miles (17.8 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.29%) is water.

History

Oskaloosa derives its name from Ouscaloosa who according to town lore was a Creek princess who married Seminole chief Osceola. It means "last of the beautiful."

The first white settlers arrived in 1835 led by Nathan Boone, youngest son of Daniel Boone who acting on instructions from Stephen W. Kearny selected it to be the first site of Fort Des Moines on a high ridge between what Skunk River and Des Moines River. The ridge was originally called the Narrows.

Theodore Roosevelt campaigns in the Oskaloosa city square in the fall of 1912.

The town was formally platted in 1844 when William Canfield who had a trading post on the Des Moines River moved it to Oskaloosa. It became the county seat in the same year.

On January 6, 1882, most of the buildings in the north half of Oskaloosa were severely damaged and most of the plate glass windows in the area were broken by an explosion. Three boys were killed in the explosion. The boys had been seen shooting at the A. L. Spencer gunpowder magazine half a mile north of the town center.

In the 1880s, over a million tons of bituminous coal was mined in the area from 38 mines. The first mine in the area was opened shortly after 1853 by Robert Seevers, who 1853 drove a drift into a 4-foot coalbed in an exposed creek bank east of town. Initially, coal was mined entirely for local consumption, but with the arrival of the railroads, coal from the region was shipped widely. By 1887, the report of the state mine inspector listed 11 coal mines in and around Oskaloosa. The coal output of Mahaska County surpassed that of all other Iowa counties by 1895, by which time, the output had reached over a million tons per year. In 1911, coal mining was reported to be the primary industry in the region. In 1914, the Carbon Block Coal Company of Centerville produced over 100,000 tons of coal, ranking among the top 24 coal producers in the state.

The Sam Smith coal mine in 1895. It was located in what is now the 1300 block of High Avenue West.

There were several major coal-mining camps in the Oskaloosa area. Muchakinock was about 5 miles south of town, on the banks of the Muchakinock Creek. Lost Creek was a mining camp about 8 miles southeast of town. On January 24, 1902, there was a mine explosion in the Lost Creek No. 2 mine. This was one of only two major mine disasters in Iowa between 1888 and 1913. A miner setting shots to blast coal from the coal face re-used a hole left over from a previous failed shot, and the result was a coal dust explosion that detonated barrels of gunpowder stored in the mine. 20 men died on the site and 14 more were badly injured. The explosion sparked a state-wide miner's strike, and as a result, the following April, a law was passed regulating blasting in coal mines.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 10,938 people, 4,603 households, and 2,863 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,593.8 people per square mile (615.6/km²). There were 4,945 housing units at an average density of 720.5/sq mi (278.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.86% White, 1.16% African American, 0.25% Native American, 1.32% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.41% from other races, and 0.97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.26% of the population.

There were 4,603 households out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.2% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.8% were non-families. 32.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.89.

Population spread: 24.1% under the age of 18, 11.2% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 18.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $34,490, and the median income for a family was $42,138. Males had a median income of $33,830 versus $23,698 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,721. About 10.6% of families and 13.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.0% of those under age 18 and 11.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Oskaloosa is the home of William Penn University, a private, liberal arts college. It was founded by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in 1873 as Penn College. In 1933, the name was changed to William Penn College, and finally to William Penn University in 2000.

Oskaloosa was also the home of the now-defunct Oskaloosa College.

The city's public system, Oskaloosa Community Schools, operates a high school, middle school, elementary school, and an alternative school. Oskaloosa Elementary opened in January 2005, merging five smaller buildings scattered across the city. The building is the largest elementary school in Iowa.

Distinctions

Cheif Mahaska statue.

Chief Mahaska statue in the Oskaloosa city square.

In the city's town square is a bronze statue of Chief Mahaska, the 19th-century leader of a Native American tribe called the Ioways, for whom Mahaska County was named. Recently restored, the artwork was completed in 1907 by an Iowa-born sculptor named Sherry Edmundson Fry (1879-1966). At the time it was commissioned, Fry was living in Paris. He returned to Iowa the following summer to make preparatory drawings of Meskwaki at the nearby Settlement at Tama, Iowa, and to collect Indian artifacts and other reference materials. Returning to Paris, he began on a clay scale model, which he first showed at the Paris Salon in 1907. A year later, he exhibited the final full-sized sculpture, for which he won the Prix de Rome. Soon after, it was shipped to the US, and arrived in Oskaloosa by railroad in September. The formal dedication of the statue, which was attended by a crowd of about 12,000 people, was held on May 12, 1909.

Oskaloosa boasts two private homes designed in 1948-51 by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Typical of his Usonian homes, these include the Carroll Alsop House at 1907 A Street, and the Jack Lamberson House at 511 North Park Avenue.

Oskaloosa hosted the Iowa State Fair prior to the Civil War in 1858 and 1859.

In 1934, Oskaloosa became the first city in the United States to fingerprint all of its citizens, including children.

Municipal Band & Historic Bandstand

The first settlers in the area brought along their instruments and the universal, deep love of music. That led to the organization of a band in 1864. In 1880 the band was called the K. T. Band (for Knight Templars). It was about 1882 when a double-deck bandstand was erected in the center of the city park. The band started playing in the city park when it was just a field. The construction of a brick walk through the park was done with money obtained from a local talent minstrel show. In 1886 the K. T. Band went to St. Louis for their national conclave and was a tremendous hit. That marked the beginning of the band's prominence in the Midwest.

It was the genius of Charles L. Barnhouse that developed the band “atmosphere” from the time he came to Oskaloosa in 1891. He exerted a creative influence to build up a musical organization that would become the pride of the city. His band grew to statewide acclaim, becoming the official band of the Iowa State Fair for four years. In 1904 the band became even more well known when it played at the National K.P. encampment in Louisville, Kentucky, and stopped off en route, by invitation, to play at the World's Fair in St. Louis. In the ensuing years the band became popular throughout Iowa and other states.

Oskaloosa bandstand.

Oskaloosa residents enjoy summer concerts by the municipal band.

In 1907 and 1908 Oskaloosa had two bands playing concerts – the Iowa Brigade Band and LaRue's Band. The merchants on High Avenue West employed their own band to compete with the Iowa Brigade Band in the park on Saturday evenings.

In 1911 the citizens decided to beautify the city and they voted to fund improvements for the city park. The citizens recommended that a new bandstand be erected in the center of the park. The old double deck frame bandstand was moved to one side to be used while the new bandstand was being built. The first concert in the new bandstand was played on June 1, 1912, and the bandstand was dedicated on July 25, 1912.

Business

Oskaloosa is home to the headquarters of Musco Lighting, an Academy Award-winning company that provides permanent and temporary lighting for major sports venues around the world.

Oskaloosa was the headquarters of the "old" Midwestone Financial Group until March 2008 when the merger of equals transaction was completed and the "old" Midwestone Financial Group was dissolved and the "new" Midwestone Financial Group was formed. The current Midwestone Financial Group is headquartered in Iowa City.

Oskaloosa is home to Clow Valve Company, a division of McWane, Inc. Clow Valve Company’s roots date back to 1878. Then known as James B. Clow & Sons, the company was a jobber of wrought iron pipe and other foundry products. The facility currently includes iron and brass foundries, a machine shop, assembly, finished goods warehousing, shipping, and administrative offices.

Events

The Southern Iowa Fair is one of the largest traditional county fairs in Iowa and is held each July.

Art on the Square is held each June on the city square. This event features local and regional artists.

Sweet Corn Serenade is held each August on the city square. A concert by the municipal band is the highlight of the corn-on-the-cob and pork burger feast.

Each December, the Lighted Christmas Parade travels through the downtown area on two consecutive nights. The floats in the parade are adorned with lights for the after-dark event.

Notable natives

• Steve Bell (anchorman)
• Patrick O'Bryant, National Basketball Association player
• Arthur Russell (musician), modern music composer
• Harry Hamilton Laughlin, eugenicist
• Cecil W. Stoughton, Kennedy presidential photographer
• Al Swearengen, proprietor of the Gem Saloon in Deadwood, SD 1877-1899 (featured in HBO Series Deadwood)
• Thomas Eugene Watson USMC Lieutenant General
• Roscoe B. Woodruff, United States Army general of World War II