Camanche () is a city in

Clinton County Clinton County may refer to: *Counties named for George Clinton, first and third Governor of New York, and later the fourth Vice President of the United States: **Clinton County, New York ** Clinton County, Ohio *Counties named for DeWitt Clinton, ...

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, on the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. The population was 4,570 at the time of the 2020 census.

History

A post office has been in operation in Camanche since 1837. The community was named after the

Comanche The Comanche (), or Nʉmʉnʉʉ (, 'the people'), are a Tribe (Native American), Native American tribe from the Great Plains, Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the List of federally recognized tri ...

Native American tribe.

1860 tornado

On Sunday, June 3, 1860, an F4

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

struck Camanche. Few buildings were left standing, and all structures were badly damaged. The storm moved at 50 mph. The lack of an organized way to report weather events left people living along the

vulnerable. A raft carrying 26 men was hit outside Camanche, and only three on board survived. The tornado killed a total of 92 people, including at least 41 in Camanche. The

outbreak In epidemiology, an outbreak is a sudden increase in occurrences of a disease when cases are in excess of normal expectancy for the location or season. It may affect a small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire ...

as a whole killed more than 140 people in just a few hours and injured over 300.

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 , of which is land and is water.

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 4,570 people, 1,952 households, and 1,224 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 514.6 inhabitants per square mile (198.7/km²). There were 2,076 housing units at an average density of 233.8 per square mile (90.3/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 93.4%

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, 0.3% Native American, 0.4% 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 ...

, 0.7% from other races and 4.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino persons of any race comprised 2.4% of the population. Of the 1,952 households, 26.1% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.3% 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, 8.4% were cohabitating couples, 23.5% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present and 18.8% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. 37.3% of all households were non-families. 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals, 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years old or older. The median age in the city was 44.9 years. 23.8% of the residents were under the age of 20; 5.0% were between the ages of 20 and 24; 21.4% were from 25 and 44; 27.1% were from 45 and 64; and 22.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.9% male and 51.1% female.

2010 census

As of the

of 2010, there were 4,448 people, 1,918 households, and 1,249 families residing in the city. The

was . There were 2,010 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.6%

, 0.6%

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, 0.4% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 0.8% 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 2.1% of the population. There were 1,918 households, of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were

living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.9% were non-families. 29.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.86. The median age in the city was 43.7 years. 22.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.9% were from 25 to 44; 30.6% were from 45 to 64; and 17.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.4% male and 50.6% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 4,215 people, 1,781 households, and 1,241 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,870 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.96%

, 0.55%

, 0.21% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.02%

, 0.21% from other races, and 0.83% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.69% of the population. There were 1,781 households, out of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.6% were

living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.3% were non-families. 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.85. 22.9% are under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 28.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $49,575, and the median income for a family was $58,583. Males had a median income of $42,324 versus $22,904 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 $23,456. About 4.3% of families and 5.2% 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 3.0% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Camanche High School is located in Camanche, along with Camanche Middle School and Camanche Elementary School. They are all under the Camanche Community School District

Notable people

Terry Bradshaw Terry Paxton Bradshaw (born September 2, 1948) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since 1994, he has been a television sports an ...

, four-time

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

champion (lived in the town as a child) *

Tom Determann Tom Determann (born 1950) is an American politician and retired businessman who has represented the 69th district in the Iowa House of Representatives since January 2023, which consists of parts of eastern Clinton County, including most of Clin ...

, member of the

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...

* George Winans, member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

References

External links

City of CamancheCamanche Community School District Website
{{authority control Cities in Iowa Iowa populated places on the Mississippi River Cities in Clinton County, Iowa 1837 establishments in Wisconsin Territory