MUSCATINE, IOWA

'Muscatine' is a city in Muscatine County, Iowa, United States. The population was 22,697 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Muscatine County. Muscatine is also the only town in the world with that name.

Contents

History

Geography

Notable natives

Demographics

Points of interest

Education

Sister cities

References

External links

History

Muscatine began as a trading post founded by representatives of Colonel George Davenport in 1833. Muscatine was originally called Bloomington when incorporated in 1839, but was changed to reduce mail delivery confusion as there were already too many Bloomingtons in the Midwest. Before that, Muscatine had also been known as "Casey's Woodpile". The name "Muscatine" is believed by some to be named after the Muscaoutin native American tribe.
A button company was founded in 1884 by a German immigrant named J.F. Boepple, producing buttons by punching them out of clam shells harvested from the Mississippi River. Muscatine was known as the "pearl button capital of the world." Hole-punched clam shells can still be found along the riverfront.

From the 1840s to the Civil War, Muscatine had Iowa's largest black community, consisting of fugitive slaves from the South and free blacks who had migrated from the eastern states. One of the most prominent community leaders was Alexander Clark, Sr., a Pennsylvania native, barber and eventually a wealthy timber salesman and real estate speculator who helped found the local AME Church, assisted fugitive slaves, and petitioned the state government to overturn racist laws before the war. In 1863, Clark helped organize Iowa's black regiment, the 60th United States Colored Infantry (originally known as the 1st Iowa Infantry, African Descent), though an injury prevented him from serving. In 1868, he successfully desegregated Iowa's public schools by suing the Muscatine school board after his daughter Susan was turned away from her neighborhood learning center. Eleven years later his son Alexander Jr. became the first black graduate of the University of Iowa College of Law, and in fact its first black graduate from any department. Clark Sr. became the second black graduate five years later despite being fifty-eight years old, saying that he wanted to serve “as an example to young men of his own race.” Clark also rose to prominence in the Republican Party, serving as a delegate to various state and national conventions. In 1890, he was appointed ambassador to Liberia by President Benjamin Harrison. In fact he was one of four Muscatine residents to serve as a diplomatic envoy between 1855 and 1900, a remarkable feat for a town of such small size: George Van Horne was consul at Marseilles, France during the 1860s; Samuel McNutt served at Maracaibo, Venezuela in 1890; and Frank W. Mahin represented his country in Reichenberg, Austria in 1900. Less than a year after arriving in West Africa, however, Clark died of fever. He was laid to rest in Muscatine's Greenwood Cemetery. In 1975 a low-income apartment complex for senior citizens was built on the site of his long-time home and named the Alexander Clark House. The actual home in which he lived towards the end of his life was lifted from its foundation and moved to a new site about two hundred feet away. Today the University of Iowa's chapter of the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) is named for the Clarks, two of Muscatine's most famous natives and two of the more prominent black Iowans in history.
Sam Clemens (better known by his pen-name Mark Twain) worked for a while at the local newspaper, the Muscatine Journal, which was partly owned by his brother, Orion Clemens. He made a few recollections of Muscatine in his book ''Life on the Mississippi''.

"''And I remember Muscatine--still more pleasantly--for its summer sunsets. I have never seen any, on either side of the ocean, that equaled them. They used the broad smooth river as a canvas, and painted on it every imaginable dream of color, from the mottled daintinesses and delicacies of the opal, all the way up, through cumulative intensities, to blinding purple and crimson conflagrations which were enchanting to the eye, but sharply tried it at the same time. All the Upper Mississippi region has these extraordinary sunsets as a familiar spectacle. It is the true Sunset Land: I am sure no other country can show so good a right to the name. The sunrises are also said to be exceedingly fine. I do not know.''"

His other, less flattering recollection of Muscatine is of being accosted by a lunatic who threatened to kill him if he did not proclaim the man the one and only son of Satan.
Muscatine's slogan is: "Pearl of the Mississippi." The term refers to the prior days when pearl button manufacturing by the McKee Button Company was a significant economic contributor. In 1915, Weber & Sons Button Co.,Inc. was the worlds largest producer of fancy freshwater pearl buttons. From that time forward, Muscatine was known as "The Pearl Button Capital of the World". Weber is still manufacturing today, and celebrated its 100 year anniversary in 2004.
Muscatine was hit by an 'EF3' tornado on the afternoon of June 1, 2007, which destroyed or damaged wide areas of the city.^[1]

Geography

Muscatine is located at (41.424018, -91.056093).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 46.3 km² (17.9 mi²). 43.6 km² (16.8 mi²) of it is land and 2.7 km² (1.0 mi²) of it (5.87%) is water.

Notable natives

★ Cody Samuel Ash-artist (print and web), University of Iowa web designer and educator, founder/owner Cafe Press Clothing Corp., recipient of the 2005 Silver Addy and the prestigious Management Series Award of 2006, one of the founding members of the Harlocke Hotel venture.

★ Norman Baker- entrepreneur, radio pioneer, perfected the air-powered calliope

★ Roy J Carver- entrepreneur and philanthropist

★ C Maxwell Stanley- founder of Stanley Consultants, delegate to the UN

★ Ellis Parker Butler- author

★ Lee Allen- medical illustrator

★ Dr. Ronald K Ross- academic physician

★ Dr. David G. Meyers- academic cardiologist

★ Ernie Peniston- rhythm and blues musician

★ Max Allan Collins- author of screenplay of the movie Mommy, which was filmed in Muscatine's Wood Creek neighborhood in 1995, and the graphic novel Road to Perdition, which became a screenplay and was filmed in 2002, starring Tom Hanks and Jude Law.

★ Terry Beatty- artist who has worked as a penciler and inker in the comic book industry.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 22,697 people, 8,923 households, and 6,040 families residing in the city. The population density was 520.4/km² (1,348.1/mi²). There were 9,375 housing units at an average density of 214.9/km² (556.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.40% White, 1.08% African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 6.04% from other races, and 1.44% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.30% of the population.
There were 8,923 households out of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.7% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% were non-families. 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.4% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $38,122, and the median income for a family was $45,366. Males had a median income of $36,440 versus $23,953 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,483. About 8.0% of families and 10.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.2% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.

Points of interest

Riverfront, Mark Twain Scenic Overlook, Kent Stein Park, Weed Park and Aquatic Center.

Education

Muscatine is the home of Muscatine Community College, and the MCC Cardinals softball and baseball teams formerly known as the MCC Indians.

Sister cities

Muscatine has seven sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):

★ Crespo, Argentina

★ Ichikawadaimon, Japan

★ Kislovodsk, Russia

★ Łomża, Poland

★ Paraná, Argentina

★ Paysandú, Uruguay

★ Drohobych, Ukraine

References

1. "Terrible touchdown in Muscatine" ''Muscatine Journal'', 2007-06-01. Accessed 2007-06-01.

External links

★ Official website of the City of Muscatine

★ Official website of Muscatine County

★ Muscatine Chamber of Commerce

★ Muscatine Journal

★ Muscatine Web Design

★ Muscatine Art Center