Earling is a city in Shelby County,

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

, United States. The population was 397 at the time of the 2020 census.

History

Earling had its start 1881-1882 by the building of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway through that territory. The town was platted in 1882 by the Milwaukee Land Company and was first known as Marthan. However, there was already a town called Marathon in Iowa, so the name of the town was soon changed to Earling, in honor of Albert J. Earling who in 1882 was division superintendent of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway. (Earling became president of the said Railroad on September 23, 1899.) Earling is well known in

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

circles for being the site of the 1928 exorcism of Anna Ecklund. Over 23 days in 1928, a

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Capuchin named Theophilus Riesinger worked to exorcise demons from Emma Schmidt at the local

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. One of the priests involved wrote an account several years later in which he made a variety of supernatural claims, including that Ecklund flew threw the air during the exorcism and clung to the wall over a door, that locals noticed strange noises and odors, and that the 23 day exorcism resulted in the expulsion of several demons from Ecklund.

Geography

Earling is located at (41.775116, -95.418552). According to the

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, the city has a total area of , all of it land. Mosquito Creek rises near Earling.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2010, there were 437 people, 175 households, and 102 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was . There were 185 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.9%

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, 0.2%

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, 1.4% Native American, and 0.5% from two or more races.

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of any race were 1.1% of the population. There were 175 households, of which 24.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.3% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.7% were non-families. 36.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.89. The median age in the city was 50.1 years. 21.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 18.5% were from 25 to 44; 23.1% were from 45 to 64; and 32.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.3% male and 49.7% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 471 people, 181 households, and 114 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 186 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 99.36%

, 0.21% Native American, and 0.42% from two or more races. There were 181 households, out of which 23.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.4% were married couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.5% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.86. In the city, the population was spread out, with 19.5% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 21.9% from 25 to 44, 15.5% from 45 to 64, and 35.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $29,702, and the median income for a family was $40,417. Males had a median income of $25,417 versus $21,250 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $15,866. About 5.9% of families and 7.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 7.7% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The Harlan Community School District operates local public schools. The district serves the towns of Harlan, Defiance, Earling,

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

and

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

, the unincorporated communities of

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

and

Corley ''Corley'' (and the associated hamlets of Corley Ash and Corley Moor) is a village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. The population at the 2011 census was 668. It is located about northwest of Coven ...

, and the surrounding rural areas.

References

External links

Earling, Iowa
Comprehensive statistical data and more about Earling
{{authority control Cities in Iowa Cities in Shelby County, Iowa