Decorah, Iowa

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File:FI0002825.jpg

Main Street 1943

DecorahTemplate:Efn is the largest city in and county seat of Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States.<ref name="GR6">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The population was 7,587 at the time of the 2020 census.<ref name=cen2020>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Decorah is located at the intersection of State Highway 9 and U.S. Route 52. Located within the Driftless Area in northeastern Iowa, Decorah is situated in the bluffs of the Upper Iowa River, which flows through the city.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Decorah is a college town, being the home of Luther College.<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":0" /> It is known for its Norwegian-American heritage and the corresponding Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":1" />

HistoryEdit

Decorah was the site of a Ho-Chunk village beginning circa 1840. Several Ho-Chunks had settled along the Upper Iowa River that year when the U.S. Army forced them to remove from Wisconsin.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In 1848, the United States removed the Ho-Chunks again to a new reservation in Minnesota, opening their Iowa villages to white settlers.

File:Waa-kaun-see-kaa.jpg

Chief Waukon Decorah in 1825

File:Decorah Iowa panoramic view.JPG

Panoramic view of Decorah, 1908

The first European-Americans to settle were the Day family from Tazewell County, Virginia. According to local Congregationalist minister Rev. Ephraim Adams, the Days arrived in June 1849 with the Ho-Chunks' "tents still standing—with the graves of the dead scattered about where now run our streets and stand our dwellings."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Judge Eliphalet Price suggested that the Days name their new settlement Decorah after Ho-Chunk leader Waukon Decorah, who was a U.S. ally during the Black Hawk War of 1832.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

File:Dunnings spring Decorah Iowa.jpg

Dunning's spring, 2018

During the 1850s and 1860s, Decorah grew quickly as settlers built dams and mills to harness water power at Dunning's Spring and other local streams.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1851, the town became the county seat of Winneshiek County. Decorah also became the site of a United States General Land Office from 1855 to 1856, making it a destination for immigrants seeking land patents in northern Iowa.

Since 1861, it has been the home of Luther College, a liberal arts institution affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

The Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad opened a branch to Decorah in 1869.<ref>Alexander (1882), pp. 190-191, 249, 271-272.</ref>

File:Vesterheim2006.JPG

Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum

Decorah has become a center for Norwegian-American culture originating from a high number of Norwegian settlements beginning in the 1850s. Each July, Decorah is the host of Nordic Fest, a celebration of Norwegian culture with ethnic dancing, food, and music. Decorah is also the home of the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, the largest museum in the country devoted to a single immigrant group.<ref name=":1" /> Until 1972, one of the largest Norwegian language newspapers in the nation was published in Decorah, the Decorah Posten.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

GeographyEdit

Decorah is located approximately Template:Convert south of the Minnesota-Iowa border. It is the northernmost major community located along U.S. Route 52 in Iowa. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert is water.<ref name="Gazetteer files">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Decorah is located in and on the bluffs of the Upper Iowa River valley; the river flows through the city en route to its confluence with the Upper Mississippi River.<ref name=":0" /> The river is faced by steep bluffs, characteristic of the Driftless Area. Template:Wide image

Impact craterEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} About 470 million years ago, a meteorite as big as a city block smashed into what is now Decorah, supporting a theory that a giant space rock broke up and bombarded Earth just as early life began flourishing in the oceans.<ref name="Crater found">Template:Cite news</ref>

The impact dug a crater nearly four miles wide that now lies beneath the town, said Bevan French, one of the world's foremost crater hunters and an adjunct scientist at the National Museum of Natural History.<ref name="Crater found"/>

The Decorah crater lay undiscovered until recently because almost none of it is above ground. Instead, it is filled by an unusual shale that formed after an ancient seaway sluiced into the crater, depositing sediment and an array of bizarre sea creatures that hardened into fossils.<ref name="Crater found"/> One such creature is Pentecopterus decorahensis, which was named for the city.<ref name="BMC-20150901">Template:Cite journal</ref>

ClimateEdit

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DemographicsEdit

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File:DecorahIowaPopPlot.png

The population of Decorah, Iowa from US census data

2020 censusEdit

As of the census of 2020,<ref name="2020-census-1919405">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the population was 7,587. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 3,210 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the city was 91.7% White, 1.8% Asian, 1.4% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.5% from other races, and 3.1% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 3.6% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

The 2020 census population of the city included 1,463 people in student housing.<ref name="2020-P5-1919405">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

According to the American Community Survey estimates for 2016–2020, the median income for a household in the city was $55,920, and the median income for a family was $85,822. Male full-time workers had a median income of $49,643 versus $43,991 for female workers. The per capita income for the city was $27,154. About 4.5% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.0% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.<ref name="2020-EconChar-1919405">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Of the population age 25 and over, 96.9% were high school graduates or higher and 43.8% had a bachelor's degree or higher.<ref name="2020-SocChar-1919405">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

2010 censusEdit

As of the census<ref name ="wwwcensusgov">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> of 2010, there were 8,127 people, 2,855 households, and 1,527 families living in the city. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 3,121 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the city was 94.6% White, 1.5% African American, 2.2% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.0% of the population.

There were 2,855 households, of which 21.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.4% were married couples living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 46.5% were non-families. 38.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 2.76.

The median age in the city was 29.6 years. 14.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 32.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 15.3% were from 25 to 44; 19.5% were from 45 to 64; and 18.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.1% male and 53.9% female.

2000 censusEdit

As of the census<ref name="GR2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> of 2000, there were 8,172 people, 2,819 households, and 1,561 families living in the city. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 2,968 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the city was 95.99% White, 1.13% African American, 0.10% Native American, 1.60% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.42% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.30% of the population. 34.0% were of Norwegian, 30.3% German, 5.4% English and 5.2% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 2,819 households, out of which 22.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.9% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.6% were non-families. 37.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.80.

The city's age demographics were spread out, with 15.0% under the age of 18, 31.4% from 18 to 24, 17.8% from 25 to 44, 17.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.5 males.

EconomyEdit

File:2009-0528-MN-IA13-Decorah-WinneshiekCourthouse.jpg

Winneshiek County Courthouse, which additionally holds the offices for the supervisors and county officers of Winneshiek County.

File:Decorah Municipal Center.jpg

Decorah Municipal Center

Decorah serves as the county seat of Winneshiek County, which is a major employer. The county courthouse was built in 1903.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Decorah's largest employer is Luther College, in addition to several national corporations. Because Winneshiek County's economy is primarily based on farming, Decorah serves as an agricultural hub. Decorah is also home to Seed Savers Exchange, an heirloom plant farm and preservation organization.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Parks and recreationEdit

Each July, Decorah hosts Nordic Fest, a celebration of Norwegian culture. Decorah is also the home of the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, the largest Norwegian museum in the United States.

Natural features include Dunning's Spring,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Ice Cave, and Siewers Spring. The city is home to several parks built on bluffs, particularly Phelps Park, Palisades Park, and Pulpit Rock. Until 2003, Decorah had a community ski area, the Nor-Ski Runs Ski Area.

Decorah is home to an operating trout hatchery<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> as well as Twin Springs Park, the former home of the hatchery.

The Raptor Resource Project<ref>Raptor Resource Center</ref> is located in Decorah. Each year they host a livestreamed webcam of a family of nesting bald eagles as they rear their young.

EducationEdit

File:Decorah High School.jpg

Decorah High School

File:Luther College.jpg

Luther College

Decorah is part of the Decorah Community School District in Winneshiek County.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The high school is Decorah High School, and the mascot is the Vikings.

St. Benedict School of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque is in Decorah. It opened in 1885 in a two-story, four-room frame building. The school, with five nuns as teachers, was initially until high school but in 1919 became an elementary-middle school only. The convent, which had a second-floor bridge to the original school building, was renovated to be the second school building. In 1964 the current school was built for $268,000 in southern Decorah. A new addition was established in the 1980s, with a music room, a storage and teaching aid area, and two classrooms.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Decorah is also home to Luther College, a private four-year residential college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and known especially for their Nordic Choir.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Their mascot is "The Norse."

MediaEdit

Newspaper: The community newspaper is printed twice a week in Decorah - The Driftless Journal and Decorah Public Opinion. Newspaper office location: 110 Washington Street, Decorah, IA 52101.

Web: The local independent news web site is Decorah News.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>