Hiawatha, Iowa
Hiawatha is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States. The population was 6,694 at the 2007 census. It is a suburb of Cedar Rapids and part of the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area. Hiawatha celebrated its 50th Anniversary in May 2000. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.5 square miles (9.1 km²), all of it land. In 1946, Fay Clark looked out onto farm fields and had a vision of houses and a highway running through a new city. Clark remarked in a February 1984, Gazette interview, that once he had that vision, “nothing could stop me, and I knew I would be a part of it.” Previous to having this vision of a new city, he had purchased 11 acres west of Robins Road where he constructed a Quonset building that contained a lunchroom and a welding shop. He had already established a trailer company and had built a “modern trailer court” on 20 acres of land east of Robins Road; a venture which continues today as the Hiawatha Oak Brook Trailer Court. In 1950, Clark and another 45 residents signed a petition seeking to become the 17th incorporated town in Linn County. The town would be named after Clark’s trailer company. That same year he and Henry Katz of Marion, established the Linn County Fire Association to help provide fire protection to rural communities. Bev Daws has lived in Hiawatha since 1951. She was a bookkeeper for Clark’s Midwest equipment company, did the water billing while he owned the town water service and kept court dockets for Clark who was also the Justice of the Peace. “There are probably not enough words in the English language to (describe Fay Clark),” laughed Daws. “He was interested in healing rocks and the Indian way of life. Basically he was a quiet person. He was a good listener. He and Adeline (Clark’s first wife) both believed in helping young people get started here. They helped a lot of veterans get homes after the war.” Clark was born in 1907 near LaCrosse, Wisconsin, and at around the age of 16, he went to live with Chief Red Cloud and the Winnebago Indians for two years. He received an architectural engineering degree from the University of Wisconsin, and later, wrote three books involving astral projection and parapsychology. One of his hobbies was photographing a person’s aura. He served as mayor of the town he was so passionate about from 1950 to 1958, and again from 1961 to 1963. When Adeline died in 1961, Clark married for a second time in 1965 and moved to Perry where his new wife lived. He returned to Hiawatha in 1972 for the dedication of the new fire station on Emmons and 10th Street. Clark died in 1991 at the age of 84. “He wanted to see Hiawatha grow,” commented Daws. “I’ve wondered deep down what Fay would have thought about it growing so big.” Mayor Tom Theis has also wondered many times what Fay Clark would think of Hiawatha today. “He did not take credit for this city, but I don’t know who else the credit would go to,” remarked Theis, adding that Clark didn’t want his two sons who live out west, to spotlight his role in founding and building Hiawatha. While Clark resisted this attention, the community has found ways to honor him. A 30-acre city park off North 18th Avenue has been named the Fay M. Clark Memorial Park. Trusses in the 1940’s Quonset building, welded by Clark, were salvaged when the structure was razed earlier this year and may be placed in the park named for him. His portrait has hung in the fire station since the building’s dedication, and his picture leads the gallery of Hiawatha mayors’ photographs hung in city Hall.
Population in July 2007: 6,694. Population change since 2000: +2.7%
Males: 3,275 (48.9%)
Females: 3,419 (51.1%)
Median resident age: 32.0 years
Iowa median age: 36.6 years
Zip codes: 52233.
Estimated median household income in 2007: $46,198 (it was $40,799 in 2000)
Hiawatha: $46,198
Iowa: $47,292
Estimated median house or condo value in 2007: $117,726 (it was $84,700 in 2000)
Mean prices in 2007: All housing units: $118,463; Detached houses: $176,896; Townhouses or other attached units: $202,118; In 2-unit structures: $207,461; In 3-to-4-unit structures: $159,237; In 5-or-more-unit structures: $82,346; Mobile homes: $18,525
2008 cost of living index in Hiawatha: 79.4 (low, U.S. average is 100)
Ancestries: German (33.7%), Irish (14.4%), English (10.0%), United States (6.0%), Norwegian (4.6%), Czech (4.0%).
Current Local Time: 6:32:30 AMCST time zone
Incorporated on 06/12/1950
Elevation: 850 feet
Land area: 3.53 square miles. Population density: 1895 people per square mile
For population 25 years and over in Hiawatha:
High school or higher: 90.4%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 24.0%
Graduate or professional degree: 5.5%
Unemployed: 3.5%
Mean travel time to work: 14.7 minutes
For population 15 years and over in Hiawatha city
Never married: 29.1%
Now married: 51.9%
Separated: 0.8%
Widowed: 4.2%
Divorced: 14.0%
173 residents are foreign born (1.5% Asia, 0.6% Europe, 0.5% Latin America) 2.7%
Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units in 2000:
Hiawatha: 1.7% ($1,440)
Daytime population change due to commuting: +464 (+7.2%)
Workers who live and work in this city: 442 (12.2%)
Population change in the 1990s: +1,021 (+18.7%).
Most common industries for males (%):
Construction (13%)
Computer and electronic products (9%)
Accommodation and food services (7%)
Finance and insurance (6%)
Transportation equipment (5%)
Professional, scientific, and technical services (5%)
Food (4%)
Most common industries for females (%):
Health care (13%)
Finance and insurance (10%)
Educational services (8%)
Professional, scientific, and technical services (8%)
Accommodation and food services (7%)
Broadcasting and telecommunications (7%)
Administrative and support and waste management services (5%)
Most common occupations for males (%)
Other sales and related workers including supervisors (7%)
Computer specialists (7%)
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers (6%)
Engineers (4%)
Other management occupations except farmers and farm managers (4%)
Electrical equipment mechanics and other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations including supervisors (4%)
Other production occupations including supervisors (3%)
Most common occupations for females (%)
Other office and administrative support workers including supervisors (9%)
Customer service representatives (7%)
Secretaries and administrative assistants (7%)
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks (5%)
Other sales and related workers including supervisors (5%)
Other management occupations except farmers and farm managers (5%)
Information and record clerks except customer service representatives (4%)
Full-time Law Enforcement Employees in 2006: 13 (12 officers).
On 4/30/1954, a category 4 (max. wind speeds 207-260 mph) tornado 6.1 miles away from the Hiawatha city center .
On 3/13/1990, a category 4 tornado 22.1 miles away from the city center caused between $5,000,000 and $50,000,000 in damages.
Public elementary/middle schools in Hiawatha:
Essential Montessori (Students: 39; Location: 1350 Blairs Ferry Road Suite A; Grades: PK-KG)
Hiawatha Elementary School (Location: 603 Emmons St; Grades: PK-5)
Nixon Elementary School (Location: 200 Nixon Dr; Grades: KG-5)
Library in Hiawatha:
HIAWATHA PUBLIC LIBRARY (Operating income: $195,380; Location: 150 W. WILLMAN; 29,943 books; 1,326 audio materials; 1,246 video materials; 116 serial subscriptions)
Notable locations in Hiawatha: Hiawatha (A), Hiawatha City Hall (B), Hiawatha Fire Station (C), Hiawatha Library (D), Hiawatha Police Department
Churches in Hiawatha include: Hope United Church of Christ (A), New Song Community Church (B), Friendship Baptist Church (C), Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Church (D), Zion Lutheran Church (E), Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Cemeteries: Buffalo Cemetery (1), Shiloh Cemetery
Parks in Hiawatha include: Hiawatha Park (1), Tucker Park
Post office: Hiawatha Post Office
Tourist attraction: Sport Zone (Amusement & Theme Parks; 1100 North 18th Avenue).
Residents with income below the poverty level in 2007:
This city: 4.5%
Whole state: 9.1%
Residents with income below 50% of the poverty level in 2007: 1.3%
Banks with branches in Hiawatha (2009 data):
Farmers State Bank: Hiawatha Branch at 175 Center Point Road, branch established on 1969-04-14; Atm Department at 92 East Clark Street, branch established on 1996-06-30. Info updated 2006-11-03: Bank assets: $557.1 mil, Deposits: $467.0 mil, headquarters in Marion, IA, positive income, Commercial Lending Specialization, 8 total offices, Holding Company: Neighbor Insurance Agency, Inc.
Guaranty Bank and Trust Company: Hiawatha Branch at 1195 Boyson Road, branch established on 1997-12-16. Info updated 2006-11-03: Bank assets: $243.5 mil, Deposits: $194.9 mil, headquarters in Cedar Rapids, IA, positive income, Commercial Lending Specialization, 9 total offices, Holding Company: Guaranty Bankshares, Ltd.
Hiawatha Bank and Trust Company: Hiawatha Bank And Trust Company at 777 North Center Point Road, branch established on 1997-09-15. Info updated 2006-11-03: Bank assets: $36.2 mil, Deposits: $27.5 mil, local headquarters, positive income, Commercial Lending Specialization, 2 total offices, Holding Company: Country Bancorporation
Heritage Bank: Hiawatha Branch at 2250 Blairs Ferry Road, branch established on 2004-12-06. Info updated 2006-11-03: Bank assets: $31.7 mil, Deposits: $28.1 mil, headquarters in Marion, IA, negative income in the last year, Commercial Lending Specialization, 3 total offices, Holding Company: Delhi Bancshares, Inc.