ESTHERVILLE, IOWA

'Estherville' is a city in Emmet County, Iowa, United States. The population was 6,656 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Emmet County. Estherville is home to the main campus of Iowa Lakes Community College.

Contents

Geography

Demographics

Interesting facts

Meteorite

External links

Geography

Estherville is located at (43.404375, -94.833592).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.5 km² (5.2 mi²), all land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,656 people, 2,729 households, and 1,689 families residing in the city. The population density was 494.2/km² (1,280.4/mi²). There were 2,924 housing units at an average density of 217.1/km² (562.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.66% White, 0.18% African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.89% from other races, and 0.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.19% of the population.
There were 2,729 households out of which 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.6% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.1% were non-families. 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.1% under the age of 18, 12.3% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 20.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 92.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,279, and the median income for a family was $41,042. Males had a median income of $27,500 versus $20,441 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,488. About 5.0% of families and 8.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.4% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.

Interesting facts

The term "blizzard" was first used in print in the Estherville ''Northern Vindicator'' on 23 April 1870.
Robert Hansen, serial killer, was born in Estherville on Feb. 15, 1939.
Estherville's high school athletic teams have the unusual nickname "Midgets."
The west fork of the Des Moines River flows through Estherville. It is known for its annual floods as the melting snow flows southward from Minnesota.
Noted director/producer/writer Michael Ray Rhodes was born in Estherville on July 11, 1945.
Producer for Norman Lear productions, Ken Stump, was born in Estherville on February 1, 1950. He died at the young age of 40 in California before his career had a chance to take off.
Another Estherville native of note is artist Robert Wee. He was born in Estherville in 1927. Robert Wee is famous for his landscape paintings of the California coastline.
American actor Virgil Frye grew up in Estherville. He is best known as the father of Soleil Moon Frye of Punky Brewster fame in the 1980's.
Rural Estherville is also the setting for the book Frontier Mother: the Letter of Gro Svendsen. Mrs. Svensen arrived in Estherville in 1862 and in letters home to her parents in Norway chronicled the hard life of early settlers in this part of Iowa. Mrs. Svendsen had 10 children in 15 years. She died in 1878 at the age of 37. Her letters left a powerful memoir of her difficult life.

Meteorite

On May 10, 1879, a 455 pound meteorite fell to earth in Emmet County a few miles north of Estherville. When it struck it buried itself in the ground 15 feet. This meteorite (a portion of which is on display in the Estherville Public Library and another portion which is on display at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History) is well known as the Estherville Meteorite.

External links