Ottumwa

Ottumwa (English: /əˈtʌmwə/) is a city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 25,529 at the time of the 2020 U.S. Census. Located in the state's southeastern section, the city is split into northern and southern halves by the Des Moines River. Ottumwa serves as a major economic, commercial, and cultural hub for the Southeastern Iowa region.

Etymology

The city's name derives from Native American Sac and Fox, alternatively Meskwaki, language. The English language translation is generally presumed to refer to the Appanoose Rapids of the Des Moines River, as "tumbling waters" or similar. Earlier versions of the name were suffixed by the Sac word for place, noc.

Alternative translations of the Native American name include:

• Place of Perseverance or Self will
• Place of Hermits
• Place of the lone chief

History

In May 1843, several investors formed the Appanoose Rapids Company and staked claim to 467 acres of land in the present site of Ottumwa. Their colonization involved claiming land supporting three indigenous settlements. The first official cabin was built in May 1843 after the area was opened to settlement (an earlier cabin built in defiance of this date was destroyed by Army troops at that time). The original platt was titled Louis Ville. In 1844 the city was named as the county seat.

The town was severely damaged during the flood of 1851.

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. The Phillips number 5 shaft was deep, with a 375-HP steam hoist. By 1889, the state mine inspector's report listed 15 mine shafts in Ottumwa. In 1914, the Phillips Fuel Company produced over 100,000 tons of coal, ranking among the top 24 coal producers in the state. 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 and their meat packing comples played a significant role in the development of Ottumwa from 1877 to 1973.

When the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad arrived in Ottumwa in September 1859, it ran parallel to the river channel. The availability of rail transportation encouraged both commercial and industrial expansion along the northwest to southeast axis. Access to the south bank of the river at first was by ferry from the foot of Green Street. By 1875 this ferry had been replaced by a bridge, and a number of additions had been made to the city during the first thirty years, all located on the north side of the Des Moines River. As development (almost exclusively residential) climbed the bluffs, the streets on top of the hills were laid out to compass points, rather than parallel to the river. Although there was some development on the south side of the river, South Ottumwa was not brought into the city limits until the 1880s.

Presidential visits

On five occasions a sitting U.S. president has visited the Bridge City:

• Benjamin Harrison was the first, in 1890, touring the Coal Palace and then speaking to a crowd of over 40,000 people.
• In 1903 President Theodore Roosevelt made a brief stop while on a train trip around America.
• President Harry Truman spent part of his 66th birthday, May 8, 1950, in Ottumwa while on a 16-state train trip in support of his Fair Deal program.
• In July 1971, President Richard Nixon arrived in Air Force One at the Ottumwa Industrial Airport on his way to dedicate the nearby Rathbun Lake dam and reservoir. It was a homecoming for Nixon of sorts, as he had been stationed at the Ottumwa airport while serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
• On April 27, 2010, President Barack Obama spoke to a large crowd at the Hellyer Student Center on the campus of Indian Hills Community College.

Geography

Ottumwa lies at N41.012917, W92.414817.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

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.

Ottumwa is the center of the Ottumwa Micropolitan Statistical Area which includes all of Wapello County.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census there were 25,023 people, 10,251 households, and 6,208 families in the city. The population density was . There were 11,257 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 90.2% White, 4.06% Hispanic or Latino, 1.6% 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 2000 United States Census, there were 24,998 people, 10,383 households, and 6,530 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 11,038 housing units at an average density of . 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. The city's proclamation was recognized by U.S. Senator Charles Grassley. In connection with this proclamation, the city hosted the first North American Video Olympics in the fall of 1982. In 2009, the city council and chamber of commerce authorized a steering committee to plan out the International Video Game Hall of Fame museum, which, while not yet built, has inducted several video game industry professionals, developers and designers, and high-scoring players into the Hall of Fame.

In popular culture

• Owl City - In his song "The 5th of July", Adam Young mentions Ottumwa as the town in which he was born.
• Cpl. "Radar" O'Reilly – Company clerk from M*A*S*H television series and books was from Ottumwa, Iowa.
• The movie The Tuskegee Airmen featured the character Hannibal "Iowa" Lee Jr. (played by Laurence Fishburne), who claimed Ottumwa as his hometown.
• The television movie The Woman Who Loved Elvis starring Roseanne Barr (then the wife of Ottumwa native Tom Arnold) was partially filmed in Ottumwa.
• In the sitcom Roseanne, Roseanne Conner's restaurant, the Lanford Lunch Box, was based on the Canteen Lunch in the Alley, in central downtown Ottumwa, which has been a stopping point for Ottumwans since the 1920s. Many famous patrons have been seen eating a "Canteen", a loose meat sandwich similar to a Maid-Rite.

Media

Paired with Kirksville, Missouri, Ottumwa is a media market region, ranked #201 by Nielsen. Television stations include Fox/NBC/The CW+ affiliate KYOU-TV (channel 15) and K18GU-D (channel 12; translator of KIIN channel 12 in Iowa City). Dual ABC/CBS affiliate KTVO (channel 3) is licensed to and has its main offices near Kirksville, but has a second studio and news bureau in Ottumwa.

The Ottumwa Courier is the primary daily newspaper.

"Ottumwa Radio" is the primary regional radio provider with multiple stations.

Infrastructure

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 and Eastern Railroad was acquired by the Canadian Pacific in 2008. Ottum…