Coalville is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in Webster 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 651 at the 2020 census. The community is located on U.S. Route 20 near Fort Dodge's

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...

mines.

History

Coalville takes its name from the

coal mine Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

s of the area. It began as one of the northernmost coal mining towns in Iowa. Early settlers were mining coal from outcrops along the

Des Moines River The Des Moines River () is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the upper Midwestern United States that is approximately long from its farther headwaters.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe N ...

by 1860, and in 1870, a mine was opened on Holiday Creek, approximately one mile east of Coalville, with a three-mile tramway to the Dubuque and Sioux City Railroad (later the

Illinois Central 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, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, the Great Lak ...

). Later in 1870, a shaft was sunk at Coalville. The Fort Dodge Coal company took over these mines and opened several more in the Coalville area. By 1880, manual labor was being augmented with machinery in these mines. In 1883, the Fort Dodge Coal company employed 350 miners to produce 30 carloads of coal daily. The Pleasant Valley Coal Company sank a 105-foot shaft in Coalville in 1895, employing 100 men to mine a six-foot coal bed. This was mined out in the early 20th century. The Gleason Coal Company sank a shaft in 1899 that operated until 1907, producing 200,000 tons of coal over its lifetime. Gleason sank a new shaft in 1908.

United Mine Workers The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American Labor history of the United States, labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing work ...

local 392 was organized in Coalville in 1899; by 1907, it had 133 members. Mine wages varied from $1.91 to $2.56 per day. Coalville's population was 26 in 1902. The population was 150 in 1940.

Geography

Coalville is located on the west bank of the

. 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 2.26 square miles (5.85 km²), of which 2.18 square miles (5.66 km²) of it is land and 0.07 square miles (0.19 km²) 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 651 people, 261 households, and 171 families residing in the community. 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 298.2 inhabitants per square mile (115.1/km²). There were 299 housing units at an average density of 137.0 per square mile (52.9/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 community was 91.7%

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 ...

, 1.7% Black or African American, 0.0% 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 ...

, 1.5% from other races and 4.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino persons of any race comprised 4.5% of the population. Of the 261 households, 25.7% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.1% 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, 7.7% were cohabitating couples, 16.9% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present and 23.4% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. 34.5% of all households were non-families. 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals, 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years old or older. The median age in the community was 38.2 years. 27.6% of the residents were under the age of 20; 6.0% were between the ages of 20 and 24; 23.8% were from 25 and 44; 25.5% were from 45 and 64; and 17.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the community was 51.6% male and 48.4% female.

2010 census

As of the

of 2010, there were 610 people, 267 households, and 173 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 289 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 92.8%

, 1.6%

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 ...

, 0.5% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 4.6% 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 3.1% of the population. There were 267 households, out of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.7% were

living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.2% were non-families. 29.6% 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 2.28 and the average family size was 2.79. In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.6% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 23.3% from 25 to 44, 32.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.6 years. The gender makeup of the city was 50.3% male and 49.7% female. The median income for a household in the CDP was $43,750, and the median income for a family was $45,096. Males had a median income of $33,846 versus $20,855 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 CDP was $17,178. None of the families and 2.6% of the population were living 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 no under eighteens and 17.8% of those over 64.

Education

The Fort Dodge Community School District operates the schools serving the CDP. Butler Elementary School is the designated elementary school. - See text note on the lower left hand corner of the screen. Also se
Map from the
2010 U.S. Census. Fort Dodge Middle School and

Fort Dodge Senior High School Fort Dodge Senior High School (commonly abbreviated FDSH) is the only state school, public high school in Fort Dodge, Iowa, United States. The school is located in the north-central part of Fort Dodge between Martin Luther King Drive and North 2 ...

are the district's secondary schools.

References

External links

Welcome to Coalville, Iowa
{{authority control Census-designated places in Iowa Census-designated places in Webster County, Iowa Populated places established in 1870 1870 establishments in Iowa