Columbus Junction, Iowa

Columbus Junction, Iowa
—  City  —
Downtown Columbus Junction
Location of Columbus Junction, Iowa
Coordinates: 41°16′42″N 91°21′45″W / 41.27833°N 91.3625°W / 41.27833; -91.3625Coordinates: 41°16′42″N 91°21′45″W / 41.27833°N 91.3625°W / 41.27833; -91.3625
Country	United States
State	Iowa
County	Louisa
Area
– Total	2.2 sq mi (5.6 km2)
– Land	2.2 sq mi (5.6 km2)
– Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	604 ft (184 m)
Population (2000)
– Total	1,900
– Density	879.6/sq mi (339.6/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
– Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	52738
Area code(s)	319
FIPS code	19-15420
GNIS feature ID	0455546

Columbus Junction is a city in Louisa County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,900 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Muscatine Micropolitan Statistical Area.

A large Tyson food plant is located in the city. Columbus Junction is also home of the historic 'Swinging Bridge'.

History

Columbus Junction began as Clifton. The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad built an east-west line through the area in 1858, with a station at Clifton. When the north-south Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Minnesota railroad was built, in 1870, it crossed the Rock Island at Clifton. The first BCR&M train arrived on Feb. 7, 1870, and the first local business opened the next day, a restaurant and boarding house, in a building moved by rail from Muscatine, Iowa. Just a month later, the town was platted. Columbus City, Iowa had already been established before the railroads came through, and both the Rock Island and the BCR&M had missed Columbus City by over a mile. As both Columbus City and Township had invested in the latter line, they were permitted to name the new town, so it became Columbus Junction.^[1]

In the summer of 2008, downtown Columbus Junction was badly flooded when the Cedar and Iowa Rivers overflowed their banks.^{[citation needed]}

Geography

Columbus Junction is located at 41°16′42″N 91°21′45″W / 41.27833°N 91.3625°W / 41.27833; -91.3625 (41.278414, -91.362466),^[2] between the cities of Columbus City and Fredonia. It lies at the confluence of two large rivers, the Iowa and the Cedar.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.2 square miles (5.7 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 1,900 people, 691 households, and 487 families residing in the city. The population density was 879.6 people per square mile (339.6/km²). There were 748 housing units at an average density of 346.3 per square mile (133.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 85.32% White, 0.58% African American, 0.05% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 12.37% from other races, and 1.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 39.00% of the population.

There were 691 households out of which 37.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.5% were non-families. 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.24.

In the city the population was spread out with 28.6% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 97.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,167, and the median income for a family was $42,188. Males had a median income of $27,841 versus $22,566 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,314. About 9.7% of families and 11.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.7% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.

References

1. ^ Portrait and Biographical Album of Louisa County, Iowa, Acme, Chicago, 1889; page 626.
2. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
3. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

External links

Iowa portal

• Columbus Junction Iowa Portal style website, Government, Recreation, Businesses, and more
• City-Data Comprehensive Statistical Data and more about Columbus Junction