Humboldt, Iowa
Encyclopedia
Humboldt is a city in Humboldt County
, Iowa
, United States
. The population was 4,690 at the 2010 census, gaining 238 people since the 2000 census.
meet. During westward expansion in the 1800s, this area is thought to be the location of a fort/trading post called Fort Confederation. According to Federal records in 1825, permission was granted to build the fort to trade with the Ihanktonwan Dakota (Yankton Sioux) Indians. Information about the exact details of the fort are unclear, such as if American or French traders built it, bringing up many questions about this fort.
The founder of modern Humboldt, Stephen Harris Taft, laid out the plans for Springvale, the original name of the town, in 1863. It was named Springvale because of the several natural springs found near the Des Moines River
. Taft had very big plans for the community, and expected many intellectuals from the East to move to his new community.
Taft had five goals for his idyllic community.
Taft undertook the great task of turning empty, blooming prairie into the community of his dreams. He brought out a group of settlers (including a doctor) in 1863, and they lived together in the few houses that had been built. The grist mill was built, known now as the Corydon Brown House
. The first few years were spent laying out the town. Taft wanted very wide boulevards throughout the town, and the community is still known for its streets. Taft also edited the Humboldt County True Democrat through the offices of the Fort Dodge Sentinel in Fort Dodge
. Trees were also planted along all the streets in Springvale, but they have since died off from a disease.
Springvale was renamed Humboldt (after the German explorer and naturalist Alexander von Humboldt
) in hope of a merger between Springvale and Dakota City
(the county seat of Humboldt County), but no merger took place. This is the first of two major shortcomings that would stunt Humboldt's growth and keep it from reaching Taft's goals.
A meeting in 1866 occurred that formed the Springvale Collegiate Association, led by Taft. After the flood in 1867 that destroyed the town's dam, the issue became popular again in 1869. The association was renamed to Humboldt Collegiate Association in accordance with the town's name change. It was reported that "great enthusiasm" was the feeling in the room, however when the question was posed to the county's voters on October 12, 1869, the measure to appropriate swampland for a Northern Iowa College was defeated. Taft was not defeated, however, and looked East for funding. After almost missing a payment deadline that would've sunk the college for good, Taft broke ground on June 17, 1870. He ended his address by saying "Hundreds are here present today. Tens of thousands shall gather here a hundred years hence to commemorate the birth of the institution and rejoice in the blessings it shall have conferred."
Humboldt College
opened its doors on September 13, 1872. The first three years were designed as preparatory work intended to supplement the pupils' public education that ended around eighth grade. The subsequent four years were college work. June 1879 brought the first graduation class of three families. They would be the only students to ever receive a degree from the institution. At this time, Taft and the college were in financial trouble. An endowment fund capable of supporting Taft's vision seemed impossible to create, and following turbulant financial times in the East, the college closed in 1916. The building was razed in 1926, following unsuccessful attempts to rent the structure. Without the college, Taft's dreams of Humboldt becoming an intellectual center of knowledge in the West could not be realized.
In July 1955, when contacts between Americans and Soviets were rare, Humboldt hosted a delegation of Soviet officials (and national and international reporters) for an overnight glimpse of rural American life.
On March 27, 1972, ABC-TV broadcast a half-hour documentary on Humboldt entitled "A Small Town in Iowa." The program was written and produced by Andy Rooney and narrated by Harry Reasoner
. The documentary portrayed Humboldt as a kind of paradise that struggled to keep its most talented youth from leaving for larger cities, and asked, "what is it about paradise that's turning the bright kids off?" The answer, according to Reasoner and Rooney, was that "what seems to be missing is more a shortcoming of ours, than of the small town. It is that those of us with ego and ambition are not usually happy performing in front of an audience the size a small town provides."
The First National Bank of Humboldt and its shareholders were the primary victims of what the Des Moines Register described as “one of the most spectacular white-collar crime
s in state history.” In 1982 Humboldt native Gary Vance Lewellyn, then a Des Moines stockbroker, attempted to pump up the value of the stock of a high-tech company by singlehandedly creating phony market demand for it. To carry out the scheme, he illegally obtained access to bonds of the First National Bank of Humboldt valued at $16.7 million, and secretly pledged the Bank’s bonds as security for his personal orders of the company’s stock through Wall Street investment firms. When Lewellyn missed margin calls on his stock purchases, the firms obtained the bonds. Suspicious federal regulators closed the Humboldt Bank when it could not account for its missing bonds (and considered, but rejected, the idea of liquidating it). Its accountholders were protected by federal insurance but the shares in the bank became worthless. For his crime, Lewellyn was sentenced to twenty years in prison, but served only five years.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 4.8 square miles (12.4 km²), of which, 4.7 square miles (12.2 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square mile (0.517997622 km²) of it (3.12%) is water.
of 2000, there were 4,452 people, 1,965 households, and 1,202 families residing in the city. The population density
was 957.7 people per square mile (369.7/km²). There were 2,090 housing units at an average density of 449.6 per square mile (173.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.41% White, 0.20% African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.65% from other races
, and 0.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.50% of the population.
There were 1,965 households out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.3% were married couples
living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.8% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 21.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.84.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.8% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 22.9% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 26.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 86.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $39,338, and the median income for a family was $49,526. Males had a median income of $32,438 versus $22,586 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $19,656. About 4.4% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.0% of those under age 18 and 4.0% of those age 65 or over.
's football
team won the Class 3A Iowa State Football Championship over Clear Lake High School
27-9. The Humboldt Cats had lost to the Clear Lake Lions earlier that season 0-21.
Humboldt County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 9,815 in the county, with a population density of . There were 4,684 housing units, of which 4,209 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 4,690 at the 2010 census, gaining 238 people since the 2000 census.
History
Frank A. Gotch Park (just south of present-day Humboldt and Dakota City) was a location of prehistoric and some Dakota Indian villages near where the two forks of the Des Moines RiverDes Moines River
The Des Moines River is a tributary river of the Mississippi River, approximately long to its farther headwaters, in the upper Midwestern United States...
meet. During westward expansion in the 1800s, this area is thought to be the location of a fort/trading post called Fort Confederation. According to Federal records in 1825, permission was granted to build the fort to trade with the Ihanktonwan Dakota (Yankton Sioux) Indians. Information about the exact details of the fort are unclear, such as if American or French traders built it, bringing up many questions about this fort.
The founder of modern Humboldt, Stephen Harris Taft, laid out the plans for Springvale, the original name of the town, in 1863. It was named Springvale because of the several natural springs found near the Des Moines River
Des Moines River
The Des Moines River is a tributary river of the Mississippi River, approximately long to its farther headwaters, in the upper Midwestern United States...
. Taft had very big plans for the community, and expected many intellectuals from the East to move to his new community.
Taft had five goals for his idyllic community.
- The town shall be surrounded and full of trees and forests.
- The town shall be free of the sale of intoxicants.
- The town shall be founded upon a saw mill and grist mill on the Des Moines RiverDes Moines RiverThe Des Moines River is a tributary river of the Mississippi River, approximately long to its farther headwaters, in the upper Midwestern United States...
- The town shall have the moral fortitude of a solid church and good schools, and that it shall become a town of thinkers and beauty.
- The town shall grow with a college of university importance, and have a church that will not dissent into factions.
Taft undertook the great task of turning empty, blooming prairie into the community of his dreams. He brought out a group of settlers (including a doctor) in 1863, and they lived together in the few houses that had been built. The grist mill was built, known now as the Corydon Brown House
Corydon Brown House
The Corydon Brown House is a house in Dakota City, Iowa. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 14, 1978. Brown was a miller, and the house was a social hub for many years.-Early Days of the House:...
. The first few years were spent laying out the town. Taft wanted very wide boulevards throughout the town, and the community is still known for its streets. Taft also edited the Humboldt County True Democrat through the offices of the Fort Dodge Sentinel in Fort Dodge
Fort Dodge, Iowa
Fort Dodge is a city and county seat of Webster County, Iowa, United States, along the Des Moines River. The population was 25,206 in the 2010 census, an increase from 25,136 in the 2000 census. Fort Dodge is a major commercial center for North Central and Northwest Iowa. It is located on U.S...
. Trees were also planted along all the streets in Springvale, but they have since died off from a disease.
Springvale was renamed Humboldt (after the German explorer and naturalist Alexander von Humboldt
Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt was a German naturalist and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt...
) in hope of a merger between Springvale and Dakota City
Dakota City, Iowa
Dakota City is a city in and the county seat of Humboldt County, Iowa, United States. The population was 911 at the 2000 census. Dakota City shares its western border with the much larger city of Humboldt.-Geography:...
(the county seat of Humboldt County), but no merger took place. This is the first of two major shortcomings that would stunt Humboldt's growth and keep it from reaching Taft's goals.
A meeting in 1866 occurred that formed the Springvale Collegiate Association, led by Taft. After the flood in 1867 that destroyed the town's dam, the issue became popular again in 1869. The association was renamed to Humboldt Collegiate Association in accordance with the town's name change. It was reported that "great enthusiasm" was the feeling in the room, however when the question was posed to the county's voters on October 12, 1869, the measure to appropriate swampland for a Northern Iowa College was defeated. Taft was not defeated, however, and looked East for funding. After almost missing a payment deadline that would've sunk the college for good, Taft broke ground on June 17, 1870. He ended his address by saying "Hundreds are here present today. Tens of thousands shall gather here a hundred years hence to commemorate the birth of the institution and rejoice in the blessings it shall have conferred."
Humboldt College
Humboldt College
Humboldt College was an institution of higher learning in Humboldt, Iowa from 1876 until it closed in 1916. Only three people ever obtained degrees from Humboldt College.-Creating the "Harvard of the West":...
opened its doors on September 13, 1872. The first three years were designed as preparatory work intended to supplement the pupils' public education that ended around eighth grade. The subsequent four years were college work. June 1879 brought the first graduation class of three families. They would be the only students to ever receive a degree from the institution. At this time, Taft and the college were in financial trouble. An endowment fund capable of supporting Taft's vision seemed impossible to create, and following turbulant financial times in the East, the college closed in 1916. The building was razed in 1926, following unsuccessful attempts to rent the structure. Without the college, Taft's dreams of Humboldt becoming an intellectual center of knowledge in the West could not be realized.
In July 1955, when contacts between Americans and Soviets were rare, Humboldt hosted a delegation of Soviet officials (and national and international reporters) for an overnight glimpse of rural American life.
On March 27, 1972, ABC-TV broadcast a half-hour documentary on Humboldt entitled "A Small Town in Iowa." The program was written and produced by Andy Rooney and narrated by Harry Reasoner
Harry Reasoner
Harry Truman Reasoner was an American journalist for ABC and CBS News, known for his inventive use of language as a television commentator, and as a founder of the 60 Minutes program.-Biography:...
. The documentary portrayed Humboldt as a kind of paradise that struggled to keep its most talented youth from leaving for larger cities, and asked, "what is it about paradise that's turning the bright kids off?" The answer, according to Reasoner and Rooney, was that "what seems to be missing is more a shortcoming of ours, than of the small town. It is that those of us with ego and ambition are not usually happy performing in front of an audience the size a small town provides."
The First National Bank of Humboldt and its shareholders were the primary victims of what the Des Moines Register described as “one of the most spectacular white-collar crime
White-collar crime
Within the field of criminology, white-collar crime has been defined by Edwin Sutherland as "a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation" . Sutherland was a proponent of Symbolic Interactionism, and believed that criminal behavior was...
s in state history.” In 1982 Humboldt native Gary Vance Lewellyn, then a Des Moines stockbroker, attempted to pump up the value of the stock of a high-tech company by singlehandedly creating phony market demand for it. To carry out the scheme, he illegally obtained access to bonds of the First National Bank of Humboldt valued at $16.7 million, and secretly pledged the Bank’s bonds as security for his personal orders of the company’s stock through Wall Street investment firms. When Lewellyn missed margin calls on his stock purchases, the firms obtained the bonds. Suspicious federal regulators closed the Humboldt Bank when it could not account for its missing bonds (and considered, but rejected, the idea of liquidating it). Its accountholders were protected by federal insurance but the shares in the bank became worthless. For his crime, Lewellyn was sentenced to twenty years in prison, but served only five years.
Geography
Humboldt is located at 42°43′25"N 94°13′17"W (42.723631, -94.221520).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 4.8 square miles (12.4 km²), of which, 4.7 square miles (12.2 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square mile (0.517997622 km²) of it (3.12%) is water.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
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 4,452 people, 1,965 households, and 1,202 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 957.7 people per square mile (369.7/km²). There were 2,090 housing units at an average density of 449.6 per square mile (173.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.41% White, 0.20% African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.65% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.50% of the population.
There were 1,965 households out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.3% 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, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.8% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 21.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.84.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.8% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 22.9% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 26.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 86.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $39,338, and the median income for a family was $49,526. Males had a median income of $32,438 versus $22,586 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 $19,656. About 4.4% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.0% of those under age 18 and 4.0% of those age 65 or over.
Sports
In 2006, Humboldt High SchoolHumboldt High School (Iowa)
Humboldt High School is a public, co-educational high school in Humboldt, Iowa. It is a part of Humboldt Community School District, and serves grades nine through twelve.-Academics:...
's football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team won the Class 3A Iowa State Football Championship over Clear Lake High School
Clear Lake High School (Clear Lake, Iowa)
-About the School:Clear Lake High School is a public high school in the Clear Lake Community School District. Clear Lake High school is in the city of Clear Lake, Iowa. It is located in Cerro Gordo County. The school colors are black and gold and the mascot is the Lion.-Academics:Clear Lake High...
27-9. The Humboldt Cats had lost to the Clear Lake Lions earlier that season 0-21.
Notable people
- G. Duncan BaumanG. Duncan BaumanGeorge Duncan Bauman was the publisher of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat from 1967 until 1984.He was born in Humboldt, Iowa, in 1912, the son of P. W. and Mae Bauman and grandson of A. H. Duncan. He attended Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois from 1930 to 1935, and began his work in journalism...
(1912–2003) Newspaper reporter, editor, publisher of the St. Louis Globe-DemocratSt. Louis Globe-DemocratThe St. Louis Globe-Democrat was originally a daily print newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri from 1852 until 1986...
, 1977-84 - Jack ClancyJack ClancyJack David Clancy is a former American football wide receiver who played for the Miami Dolphins in 1967 and 1969 and for the Green Bay Packers in 1970. He also played in college for the University of Michigan Wolverines from 1963 to 1966....
- Football player for the Miami DolphinsMiami DolphinsThe Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... - Christian ClemensonChristian ClemensonChristian Clemenson is an American film and television actor. He is well known for his portrayal of Jerry "Hands" Espenson in the television series Boston Legal, for which he won the 2006 Emmy Award for Best Guest Actor in a Drama Series.-Early life:Clemenson spent his childhood in Humboldt,...
- Emmy-award winning actor; recent roles include Thomas Burnett in United 93United 93 (film)United 93 is a 2006 fact-based historical drama film written, co-produced, and directed by Paul Greengrass that chronicles events aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked during the September 11 attacks...
and Jerry "Hands" Espenson in Boston LegalBoston LegalBoston Legal is an American legal dramedy created by David E. Kelley, which was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for the ABC... - Kevin DresserKevin DresserKevin Dresser is the head wrestling coach at Virginia Tech .A native of Humboldt, Iowa, Dresser was a two-time high school wrestling state champion at Humboldt High School. Kevin matriculated to the University of Iowa where he was an NCAA national champion at 142 pounds in 1986...
- Head wrestling coach, Virginia Tech, and 1986 national wrestling champion (142 lbs.) at the University of IowaUniversity of IowaThe University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees... - Theodore G. GarfieldTheodore G. GarfieldTheodore G. Garfield served as a justice on the Iowa Supreme Court longer than all but one other justice. A member of the Court from January 1, 1941 until his retirement on November 11, 1969, he served as Iowa's Chief Justice in rotation for four years, and then on a continuing basis from 1961...
- Second-longest-serving justice of the Iowa Supreme Court, 1941-1969 (from 1961-69 as Chief Justice) - Frank Gotch - world heavyweight wrestling champion from 1908 to 1915
- L. W. HouselL. W. HouselLorenzo W. Housel was a Connecticut state legislator who later ran for Congress and statewide office in Iowa. Running as a Democrat in an era in which Republicans dominated Iowa politics, Housel was unsuccessful in each of his Iowa races.-Personal background:L.W...
- Two-time Democratic candidate for governor of Iowa - Jon PorterJon PorterJonathan Christopher "Jon" Porter , an American politician, was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, the first representative elected from the new 3rd Congressional District of Nevada....
- U.S. RepresentativeUnited States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from NevadaNevadaNevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2009 - Harry ReasonerHarry ReasonerHarry Truman Reasoner was an American journalist for ABC and CBS News, known for his inventive use of language as a television commentator, and as a founder of the 60 Minutes program.-Biography:...
- CBS and ABC news correspondent and television host - Bruce ReimersBruce ReimersBruce Reimers is a former American football guard who played ten seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the National Football League.- High school career:...
- NFL offensive guard for CincinnatiCincinnati BengalsThe Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
and Tampa BayTampa Bay BuccaneersThe Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West... - Dick SchultzDick SchultzDick Schultz , a native of Kellogg, Iowa, is the former head baseball and basketball coach at the University of Iowa and served as the executive director of the NCAA and USOC.-Biography:...
- College sports coach, executive director of the United States Olympic CommitteeUnited States Olympic CommitteeThe United States Olympic Committee is a non-profit organization that serves as the National Olympic Committee and National Paralympic Committee for the United States and coordinates the relationship between the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency and various...
External links
- Humboldt Community School District
- Humboldt portal style website City government, Chamber of commence, Development association
- City-Data Comprehensive Statistical Data and more about Humboldt