Aurelia is a city in

Cherokee County, Iowa Cherokee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,658. The county seat is Cherokee. The county was formed on January 15, 1851, from open territory. It was named after the Cherokee peopl ...

, United States. The population was 968 at the 2020 census.

History

Aurelia was founded in 1873 as a stop along the

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, ...

branch connecting

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury County, Iowa, Woodbury and Plymouth County, Iowa, Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, fo ...

, to

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. This was the only railroad connecting the two Midwestern hubs and so gave birth to many railroad towns. Aurelia was named for the youngest daughter of the owner of the railroad,

John Insley Blair John Insley Blair (August 22, 1802 – December 2, 1899) was an American entrepreneur, railroad magnate, philanthropist, and one of the 19th century's wealthiest men. Early life Blair was born at Foul Rift in White Township, New Jersey, just s ...

, who died in 1866. The location of Aurelia was only set after a last minute change in the railroad design that saw it redirect to go through LeMars and

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

, rather than connect Sioux City directly to Storm Lake. Almost 70% of Aurelia's population is people over age 50. Its newspaper is the '' Aurelia Star'' which was founded in March 1881 as the ''Aurelia Sentinel''.

Geography

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.

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 968 people, 402 households, and 271 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 954.3 inhabitants per square mile (368.4/km²). There were 441 housing units at an average density of 434.7 per square mile (167.9/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 91.3%

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 ...

, 0.0% Black or African American, 0.8% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.6%

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 ...

, 2.2% from other races and 5.0% from two or more races.

Hispanic or Latino ''Hispanic'' and '' Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While many use the terms interchangeably, for example, the United States Census Bureau ...

persons of any race comprised 6.6% of the population. Of the 402 households, 26.6% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.7% 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, 6.7% were cohabitating couples, 22.9% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present and 16.7% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. 32.6% of all households were non-families. 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals, 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years old or older. The median age in the city was 43.9 years. 25.1% of the residents were under the age of 20; 4.4% were between the ages of 20 and 24; 21.7% were from 25 and 44; 23.9% were from 45 and 64; and 24.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.2% male and 50.8% female.

2010 census

As of the

of 2010, there were 1,036 people, 426 households, and 299 families living in the city. The

was . There were 447 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.3%

, 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 ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 1.6% 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 2.6% of the population. There were 426 households, of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.9% were

living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 29.8% were non-families. 26.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.84. The median age in the city was 45.2 years. 22.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 20.4% were from 25 to 44; 26.4% were from 45 to 64; and 23.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.5% male and 50.5% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,062 people, 424 households, and 295 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 469 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.87%

, 0.09%

, 0.19% Asian, 0.75% from other races, and 0.09% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.85% of the population. There were 424 households, out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.0% were

living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.2% were non-families. 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.88. 23.6% were under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 23.1% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 28.5% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $37,250, and the median income for a family was $44,135. Males had a median income of $30,259 versus $19,333 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 $17,417. About 3.0% of families and 5.7% 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 6.7% of those under age 18 and 4.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education

It is within the

Alta–Aurelia Community School District Alta–Aurelia Community School District is a rural public school district with offices in Alta and Aurelia in Iowa. The district, which serves Alta and Aurelia, covers sections of Buena Vista and Cherokee counties, with a very small secti ...

. It was in the

Aurelia Community School District Aurelia Community School District was a school district headquartered in Aurelia, Iowa. It was mostly in Cherokee County, with a section in Buena Vista County. In 1989, it began a whole grade-sharing arrangement, in which one district sends ...

until it merged into Alta–Aurelia on July 1, 2018.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. Organization As of 2020, the Iowa Department of Education c ...

. Retrieved on July 29, 2018. Aurelia houses one of the two K–4 elementary schools in the district and the sole middle school, which serves grades 5–8. The high school is in Alta.

References

External links

Welcome to Aurelia
Portal style website, Government, Business, Activities and more {{authority control Cities in Iowa Cities in Cherokee County, Iowa