Boone, Iowa
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Boone ( ) is a city in Des Moines Township, and
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of Boone County, Iowa, United States. It is the principal city of the Boone, Iowa Micropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Boone County. This micropolitan statistical area, along with the
Ames, Iowa Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines in central Iowa. It is best known as the home of Iowa State University (ISU), with leading agriculture, design, engineering, and veterinary medici ...
Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...
comprise the larger Ames-Boone, Iowa
Combined Statistical Area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...
. The population of the city was 12,460 at the 2020 census.


History

Coal mining played an important part in the early history of the Boone area. Local blacksmiths were already mining coal from the banks of Honey Creek south of what became Boone in 1849. Boone was
plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bear ...
ted as a town in 1865 by
John Insley Blair John Insley Blair (August 22, 1802 – December 2, 1899) was an American entrepreneur, railroad magnate, philanthropist and one of the 19th century's wealthiest men. Early life John Insley Blair was born at Foul Rift in White Township, New Jers ...
. It was incorporated the following year, when the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company railroad station was built there. The town was originally named "Montana"; it was renamed to Boone in 1871. The nearby town of Boonesboro was also chartered in 1866; Boonesboro was annexed to Boone in 1887. The present name is a tribute to Nathan Boone, son of explorer Daniel Boone. Commercial mining was spurred by the arrival of the railroad. In 1867, Canfield and Taylor opened a mine just west of town. Their
mine shaft Shaft mining or shaft sinking is the action of excavating a mine shaft from the top down, where there is initially no access to the bottom. Shallow shafts, typically sunk for civil engineering projects, differ greatly in execution method from ...
was 242 feet deep, and they hauled coal to the railroad by wagon. In 1874, a railroad spur was built to the mine. This mine was taken over by the railroad, and operated for 30 years. There were
coal seam Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
s in the Boone area; the upper vein, about 3 feet thick, was always worked using
longwall mining Longwall mining is a form of underground coal mining where a long wall of coal is mined in a single slice (typically thick). The longwall panel (the block of coal that is being mined) is typically long (but can be upto long) and wide. Histor ...
, while the lower vein was always mined using
room and pillar Room and pillar or pillar and stall is a variant of breast stoping. It is a mining system in which the mined material is extracted across a horizontal plane, creating horizontal arrays of rooms and pillars. To do this, "rooms" of ore are dug out w ...
mining. In 1912,
United Mine Workers The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the Unit ...
Local 869 in Boone had 554 members, close to 10% of the population at the time. The grocery chain
Fareway Fareway Stores, Inc. is a Midwest grocery store chain based in Boone, Iowa. It operates 131 grocery store locations in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Kansas, and Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region o ...
originated in Boone. The company maintains their business offices in town also. The first
Casey's General Store Casey's Retail Company (trade name, doing business as Casey's) is a chain of convenience stores in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern and Southern United States. The company is headquartered in Ankeny, Iowa, a suburb of Des Moines. As of ...
was founded in Boone, Iowa in 1968. Other larger businesses that have had or still maintain facilities in Boone include Gates Rubber, Heinrich Envelope, Archway Bakery, Lowe-Berry Seeds, Coca-Cola Bottling, Quinn Iron & Wire Works (now Besser Quinn Machine & Foundry), Mid-States Steel, Sunoco Products, Specialty Leather Productions, Randy's Frozen Meats, PDM Distribution, ProLiant Biologicals, APC, Thermomass Composite Tech, CDS Global, Patterson Logistics and Stoll Bottling.


Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the city has a total area of , all land.
Ledges State Park Ledges State Park is a state park of Iowa, USA, located approximately south of the city of Boone. The park contains a sandstone gorge carved by Pea's Creek, a tributary of the Des Moines River. The gorge is deep in places, with concretions ju ...
is located four miles south of Boone and is a popular destination.


Climate

According to the
Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
system, Boone has a hot-summer humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfa" on climate maps.


Demographics


2010 census

At the 2010
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
, there were 12,661 people, 5,380 households and 3,278 families living in the city. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was . There were 5,917 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.7%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 0.8%
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.3% Native American, 0.4%
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.5% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...
of any race were 2.0% of the population. There were 5,380 households, of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.3% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.1% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.92. The median age was 38.1 years. 23.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25% were from 25 to 44; 26.1% were from 45 to 64; and 16.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.9% male and 51.1% female.


2000 census

At the 2000 census, there were 12,803 people, 5,313 households and 3,363 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 5,585 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.34%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 0.32%
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.22% Native American, 0.21%
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.35% from other races, and 0.56% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...
of any race were 0.87% of the population. There were 5,313 households, of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.0% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.7% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.94. 24.3% of the population were under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.4 males. The
median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of ...
was $43,256. Males had a median income of $32,106 and females $22,119. The per capita income was $22,611. About 5.4% of families and 8.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.


Transportation

Boone is located on U.S. Route 30. The original
Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is the first transcontinental highway in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated October 31, 1913 ...
ran through the center of town, but a new four-lane highway was built in the late 1960s that bypassed the center of Boone to the south. There is also a network of paved country roads radiating out in all directions. Boone is served by the mainline of the Union Pacific, which purchased the
Chicago & North Western Railroad The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...
(C&NW) in 1995. Boone was a division and crew change point on the railroad under the Chicago & North Western and some of that business remains today. There is a moderate-sized rail yard to the east of the downtown area. The locomotives no longer sound their horns in the town proper due to modifications to the various points where streets intersect with the rail line. Boone was also the exact midpoint on the Fort Dodge, Des Moines & Southern Railroad, an electric interurban line converted to diesel in 1955 after a flood on the Des Moines River devastated the Fraser hydroelectric power plant that supplied power to the railroad. It connected with the C&NW downtown. It was purchased by the C&NW in 1968 and subsequently abandoned. The western part of the line to Fraser has been resurrected as the
Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad The Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad is a heritage railroad that operates freight and passenger excursions in Boone County, Iowa. History The heritage and excursion railroad was begun in 1983 by a group of volunteers who wanted to preserve a sce ...
, a tourist line. The
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until 1986. The company experience ...
also ran a branch line into Boone from the southeast. It likewise connected with the C&NW. The line was trimmed back to
Luther Luther may refer to: People * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement * Luther (give ...
in the late 1960s and completely abandoned a few years later.


Economy

*Unemployment rate ::2.8% (3.6% USA) *Recent job growth ::-0.48% (-0.12% USA) *Future job growth ::33.14% (31.25% USA) *Sales taxes ::7.00% (6.80% USA) *Income per capita ::$23,283 ($27,067 USA) *Household income :$46,749 ($52,954)


Education

The
Boone Community School District The Boone Community School District is a public school district headquartered in Boone, Iowa. The district, entirely within Boone County, serves Boone and the surrounding rural areas. Julie Trepa became superintendent in 2020, after serving ...
operates local public schools. The Sacred Heart parish operates a parochial school for kindergarten through 8th grade. Trinity Lutheran Church operates a school for students 3 years old to 8th grade.


Arts and culture


Festivals and events

Pufferbilly Days, an annual event celebrating Boone's railroad heritage, is held at the end of the summer and is one of Iowa's top five community festivals with over 30,000 attendees. The IMCA Super Nationals are held at the Boone Speedway, occurring during the week of Labor Day. Boone River Valley Festival was started in 2017 and takes place in May. It is an outdoor festival with events to celebrate all of the beauty and activities that Boone and Boone County have to offer. Boone is also a site of the annual
Farm Progress Show Farm Progress is the publisher of 22 farming and ranching magazines. The company dates back nearly 200 years. Farm Progress Companies is owned by Informa. Farm Progress has the oldest known continuously published magazine, ''Prairie Farmer'', whi ...
. Originally the show rotated from one farm to another in Iowa, Illinois and Indiana before the permanent sites were established at Boone, Iowa and
Decatur, Illinois Decatur ( ) is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois, with a population of 70,522 as of the 2020 Census. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Ce ...
. The show now alternates between these two permanent sites on an annual basis.


Tourist attractions

Vincenzo Miserendino's final and largest statue of
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
, which was eight times life-size was commissioned in 1941, and was scheduled to arrive in Boone, Iowa, in 1943. However, before casting, its 4,000 pounds of bronze was appropriated for World War II. Miserendino commented that Theodore Roosevelt himself would have approved of that decision to put the service of the country first. Later, in 1946, the Roman Bronze Corporation of Corona, New York City, produced the casting in Miserendino's original mold. On January 6, 1948, it was placed in McHose Park. Residing on three large granite blocks, the 6' 3" statue depicts Roosevelt rising out of a mountainous landscape with his hand outstretched as if addressing a crowd. Below the statue are ten bas reliefs of Roosevelt's outdoor accomplishments. Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad & the James H. Andrew Railroad Museum are other points of interest. The B&SVRR allows visitors to view Boone and the Boone river valley area via train, riding behind various historic train equipment. Thomas the Tank Engine makes annual visits to B&SVRR, at the Day Out with Thomas event, usually in September. The railroad also hosts several "dinner" trains, a regular weekly train excursion as well as a special Christmas themed event. The James H. Andrew museum, located on site, highlights railroad history with a variety of exhibits and actual railroad related artifacts.


Parks and recreation

J.B. McHose Park and Shelter is the largest park in Boone, and features shelters, baseball fields, tennis courts, a sand volleyball area, a basketball court, playgrounds, nature trails, an equestrian trail, fishing pond, Teddy Roosevelt monument, bike trail, disc golf course, and a swimming pool.


Notable people

* Mamie Geneva Doud, First Lady of the United States, wife of President
Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
, was born here; Mamie Eisenhower Avenue, one of the main east–west streets in Boone and former route of US Hwy 30, is named in her honor. * Norman Arthur Erbe, was a Republican
Governor of Iowa A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
from 1961 to 1963; born and resided in Boone *
Jerry McNertney Gerald Edward McNertney (born August 7, 1936) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher in 1964 and then from 1966 to 1973. Career Born in Boone, Iowa, McNertney signed with th ...
,
MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
player for Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, and
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
*
Hap Moran Francis Dale "Hap" Moran (July 31, 1901 – December 30, 1994) was a collegiate and professional American football player. He played mainly at halfback for Carnegie Tech (1922), Grinnell College (1923–1925), the Frankford Yellow Jackets (1926) ...
, All-American basketball player from
Boone High School Boone High School is a public high school located in Boone, Iowa, United States. The school's mascot is the Toreadors, and their colors are red and green. It is part of the Boone Community School District. Athletics The Toreadors compete in ...
and
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
football star * Chad Rinehart, offensive lineman for
San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
and All-American for
University of Northern Iowa The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI offers more than 90 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities, Arts, and Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences and grad ...
*
Darlene Rose Darlene Deibler Rose was a born-again Christian missionary in Papua New Guinea during and after World War II in what would later be the Western Highlands province. She was the first American woman to enter the Baliem Valley of New Guinea, working ...
, missionary in Papua New Guinea during and after World War II, survived imprisonment in Japanese War Camp *
Ed Updegraff Edgar Rice Updegraff (March 1, 1922 – December 23, 2022) was an American amateur golfer and urologist. Undegraff was born in Boone, Iowa, and is a descendent of the German Op den Graeff family. Biography Medical career He received his bache ...
, golfer, U.S. Senior Amateur and Walker Cup champion; also a physician *
Curtis D. Wilbur Curtis Dwight Wilbur (May 10, 1867 – September 8, 1954) was an American lawyer, California state judge, 43rd United States Secretary of the Navy and a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Ear ...
, lawyer, judge and 43rd United States Secretary of the Navy * Ray Lyman Wilbur, third president of
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
, also
United States Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natural ...
; born in Boone


Notes


References


External links


Official Boone City websiteBoone County Chamber of Commerce''Vintage Life'' magazine photos
*

Detailed statistical data and more about Boone
{{authority control Cities in Boone County, Iowa Cities in Iowa Micropolitan areas of Iowa County seats in Iowa Populated places established in 1865 1865 establishments in Iowa