Steamboat Rock is a city in

Hardin County, Iowa Hardin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,878. The county seat is Eldora. The county was named in honor of Col. John J. Hardin, of Illinois, who was killed in the Mexican–Americ ...

, United States. The population was 264 at the time of the 2020 census.

History

Steamboat Rock was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bear ...

ted in 1855. It was named from a large rock on the river bluff which is said to resemble a queue of steamboats from a distance.

Geography

Steamboat Rock is located at (42.407607, -93.066276). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of , all land. Steamboat Rock is located on the

Iowa River The Iowa River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the state of Iowa in the United States. It is about longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 13, 2011 and is ...

, at a point where the river marks the east edge of the Altmont Moraine, the

glacial moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice shee ...

that marks the east border of the Des Moines Lobe of the

Wisconsin Glaciation The Wisconsin Glacial Episode, also called the Wisconsin glaciation, was the most recent glacial period of the North American ice sheet complex. This advance included the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which nucleated in the northern North American Cor ...

. The river valley here is a deep gorge through the

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

bedrock underlying the moraine. Unlike most of Iowa, where prairie dominated, this area was historically woodland.

Climate

Designated as having a humid continental climate, this region typically has a large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. Precipitation is relatively well distributed year-round in many areas with this climate. The

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

subtype for this climate is " Dfa". (Hot Summer Continental Climate).

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 incl ...

of 2010, there were 310 people, 146 households, and 81 families living in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was . There were 164 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.1%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0.6%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 1.0% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.3% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 7.7% of the population. There were 146 households, of which 23.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.9% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 3.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 44.5% were non-families. 42.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.12 and the average family size was 2.89. The median age in the city was 45.3 years. 19.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.2% were from 25 to 44; 30.3% were from 45 to 64; and 20% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.0% male and 50.0% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 336 people, 150 households, and 91 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 158 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 93.45%

, 0.89%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.60%

, 4.17% from

, and 0.89% from two or more races.

of any race were 6.25% of the population. There were 150 households, out of which 25.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.0% were

living together, 5.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.3% were non-families. 35.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.93. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.0% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 21.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $28,125, and the median income for a family was $39,125. Males had a median income of $26,607 versus $25,156 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 $13,777. About 12.9% of families and 14.6% 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 17.6% of those under age 18 and 17.7% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Steamboat Rock is a major producer of

corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

(for

ethanol fuel Ethanol fuel is ethyl alcohol, the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, used as fuel. It is most often used as a motor fuel, mainly as a biofuel additive for gasoline. The first production car running entirely on ethanol was the ...

) and producer of

ethanol Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl ...

, which is made from corn. The city was covered on a segment of the ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...

'' television news program on May 7, 2006, in regard to its production of ethanol. The long dormant railroad line through the town was reactivated in 2007 with the establishment of the

Iowa River Railroad The Iowa River Railroad (IARR) operates freight service from Ackley, Iowa to end of track 1.4 miles south of U.S. Highway 20, north of Steamboat Rock, Iowa, for a distance of about 9 miles. With its office located in Steamboat Rock, Iowa, IARR car ...

- a rail line that primarily serves the ethanol industry.

Education

AGWSR Community School District operates area public schools. The district formed on July 1, 2001, with the merger of the Wellsburg-Steamboat Rock Community School District and the Ackley–Geneva Community School District. The former was established on July 1, 1992, by the merger of the Steamboat Rock and Wellsburg school districts.REORGANIZATION & DISSOLUTION ACTIONS SINCE 1965-66
"

Iowa Department of Education The Iowa Department of Education sets the standards for all public institutions of education in Iowa and accredits private as well as public schools. It is headquartered in Des Moines Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city i ...

. Retrieved on July 20, 2018.

References

{{authority control Cities in Hardin County, Iowa Cities in Iowa 1855 establishments in Iowa