Garden Grove, Iowa
Encyclopedia
Garden Grove is a city in Decatur County
Decatur County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 8,457 in the county, with a population density of . There were 3,834 housing units, of which 3,223 were occupied.-2000 census:...

, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The population was 250 at the 2000 census.

History

On April 24, 1846, emigrants affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints under the direction of Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...

 established a way station halfway into their trek across Iowa. This semi-permanent settlement was named Garden Grove because the entire grove was covered with wild onions as far as the eye could see. Within three weeks of their arrival, the pioneers enclosed and planted 715 acres (2.9 km²). They founded the village to assist those who did not have sufficient means to continue their journey, as well as to support and supply future companies of pioneers.

When Brigham Young and the main company left Garden Grove on May 12, 1846, the poorest and least prepared were left behind. After the Saints arrived in Winter Quarters, Captain James Allen brought orders from President James Polk
James K. Polk
James Knox Polk was the 11th President of the United States . Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He later lived in and represented Tennessee. A Democrat, Polk served as the 17th Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 12th Governor of Tennessee...

 to enlist a battalion of Mormons for the War with Mexico. Brigham Young and other leaders rode back as far as Mt. Pisgah
Mount Pisgah (Iowa)
Mount Pisgah was a semi-permanent settlement or way station from 1846 to 1852 along the Mormon Trail between Garden Grove and Council Bluffs. It is located near the small community of Thayer in Jones Township, Union County, Iowa. This site is now part-of the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail....

 to encourage the men to enlist, and a letter was sent to the Saints in Garden Grove. Only one man from the Garden Grove settlement, Edward Bunker, enlisted and served in the Mormon Battalion
Mormon Battalion
The Mormon Battalion was the only religiously based unit in United States military history, and it served from July 1846 to July 1847 during the Mexican-American War. The battalion was a volunteer unit of between 534 and 559 Latter-day Saints men led by Mormon company officers, commanded by regular...

.

In the fall of 1846, when the last of the Mormons were driven out of Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. Although the population was just 1,063 at the 2000 census, and despite being difficult to reach due to its location in a remote corner of Illinois, Nauvoo attracts large numbers of visitors for its historic importance and its...

, the exiles camped on the west shore of the Mississippi River. Two rescue parties were sent from Winter Quarters and Council Bluffs, and an additional group was requested from Garden Grove. Luman Shurtliff lead the third rescue party and brought the poorest of the exiles to the settlement at Garden Grove.

Through the winter of 1846/47, about 600 Latter-day Saints resided in Garden Grove. By 1852, the Mormon settlers had moved on to Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

, selling the property and improvements to other American frontiersmen. Garden Grove is a site on the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail
Mormon Trail
The Mormon Trail or Mormon Pioneer Trail is the 1,300 mile route that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traveled from 1846 to 1868...

. A marker just west of the city, overlooking a wooded ravine, marks the site of the former Mormon Cemetery.

Geography

Garden Grove is located at 40°49′35"N 93°36′28"W (40.826479, -93.607732).

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the city has a total area of 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 250 people, 96 households, and 64 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 359.0 people per square mile (137.9/km²). There were 113 housing units at an average density of 162.3 per square mile (62.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 99.60% White and 0.40% Native American.

There were 96 households out of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.3% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% were non-families. 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.26.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.2% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 115.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $19,844, and the median income for a family was $29,464. Males had a median income of $21,875 versus $18,125 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the city was $10,301. About 28.3% of families and 35.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 43.3% of those under the age of eighteen and 28.2% of those sixty five or over.

External links

  • City Data Comprehensive Statistical Data and more about Garden Grove



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