Pocahontas is a city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Pocahontas County,

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, United States. The population was 1,867 in the 2020 census, a decline from the 1,970 population in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

History

Pocahontas was first settled and surveyed in 1870 by Warrick and Buelah Price of

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

.City of Pocahontas - History
/ref> The city was named after

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, also known as Matoaka and Rebecca Rolfe; 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. S ...

, a

Powhatan Powhatan people () are Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands who belong to member tribes of the Powhatan Confederacy, or Tsenacommacah. They are Algonquian peoples whose historic territories were in eastern Virginia. Their Powh ...

woman from

Jamestown, Virginia The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent British colonization of the Americas, English settlement in the Americas. It was located on the northeast bank of the James River, about southwest of present-day Willia ...

. Other geographical names in the county related to the colony at Jamestown are Rolfe, Powhatan Township and Varina. Pocahontas was incorporated as a city on May 16, 1892.

April 9, 2011 tornado

During the tornado outbreak of April 9–11, 2011, several tornadoes hit Pocahontas County and the surrounding area. No one was injured and there were no fatalities. The strongest was an EF4 that touched down west of town.

Geography

Pocahontas's longitude and latitude coordinates in decimal form are 42.734476, -94.673017. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , all land. Pocahontas lies at the northwestern margin (rim) of Manson crater, an impact structure buried by glacial

till image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...

and

outwash An outwash plain, also called a sandur (plural: ''sandurs''), sandr or sandar, is a plain formed of glaciofluvial deposits due to meltwater outwash at the terminus of a glacier. As it flows, the glacier grinds the underlying rock surface and c ...

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Pocahontas has a

hot-summer humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

, abbreviated "Dfa" on climate maps.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2020, there were 1,867 people, 846 households, and 492 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was 944.8 inhabitants per square mile (364.8/km²). There were 954 housing units at an average density of 482.8 per square mile (186.4/km²). The

racial Race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 16th century, when it was used to refer to groups of va ...

makeup of the city was 95.9%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.7% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.0%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.4% from other races and 2.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino persons of any race comprised 0.7% of the population. Of the 846 households, 22.8% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.9% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 5.0% were cohabitating couples, 29.8% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present and 19.4% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. 41.8% of all households were non-families. 37.7% of all households were made up of individuals, 20.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years old or older. The median age in the city was 46.9 years. 23.9% of the residents were under the age of 20; 3.8% were between the ages of 20 and 24; 20.9% were from 25 and 44; 23.7% were from 45 and 64; and 27.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.2% male and 52.8% female.

2010 census

As of the

of 2010, there were 1,789 people, 852 households, and 493 families residing in the city. The

was . There were 953 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.3%

, 0.3%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.1% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.1%

, 0.1% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.3% of the population. There were 852 households, of which 21.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.0% were

living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 42.1% were non-families. 39.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.04 and the average family size was 2.70. The median age in the city was 51.1 years. 19.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 16.6% were from 25 to 44; 29.5% were from 45 to 64; and 29.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.6% male and 53.4% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,970 people, 883 households, and 549 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 946 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.68%

, 0.25%

, 0.15% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 0.20% from other races, and 0.61% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.51% of the population. There were 883 households, out of which 25.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.3% were

living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.8% were non-families. 36.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 24.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.79. Age spread: 23.1% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 22.1% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 24.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $30,865, and the median income for a family was $42,690. Males had a median income of $29,806 versus $19,886 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $17,556. About 6.7% of families and 9.1% 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 ...

, including 12.9% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.

Infrastructure

Transportation

In 1900, a railroad came to Pocahontas.

Air transportation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as hot ai ...

for the town is provided by Pocahontas Municipal Airport (FAA Identifier KPOH), located approximately one mile northeast of the city. The airport has two runways, the first is designated 11/29, with a concrete surface 4100 x 60 ft (1250 x 18 m) and

runway edge lights Runway edge lighting is used to outline the edges of runways during periods of darkness or restricted visibility conditions. These light systems are classified according to the intensity they are capable of producing: * High intensity runway li ...

, the second is designated 18/36 with a

turf Sod is the upper layer of turf that is harvested for transplanting. Turf consists of a variable thickness of a soil medium that supports a community of turfgrasses. In British and Australian English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', ...

surface 1998 x 135 ft (609 x 41 m) and is unlighted.

Education

Pocahontas Area Community School District operates public schools.

Notable people

* Larry Biittner (1946–2022), former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player * Peg Mullen (1917–2009), anti-war activist and writer * James V. Schall (1928–2019) Jesuit priest, professor of Government at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

, and prolific

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

writer *Alaskan serial killer and baker,

Robert Hansen Robert Christian Boes Hansen (February 15, 1939 – August 21, 2014), also known as the Butcher Baker, was an American serial killer active in Anchorage, Alaska, between 1972 and 1983, abducting, raping and murdering at least seventeen wome ...

, grew up here, where his parents owned the Pocahontas Home Bakery.

References

External links

Pocahontas portal style website
City government, Businesses, Economic Development

Comprehensive Statistical Data and more about Pocahontas {{authority control Cities in Pocahontas County, Iowa Cities in Iowa County seats in Iowa

History

April 9, 2011 tornado

Geography

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

2010 census

2000 census

Infrastructure

Transportation

Education

Notable people

See also

References

External links