Earling is a city in
Shelby 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 397 at the time of the
2020 census.
History
Earling had its start 1881-1882 by the building of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway through that territory.
The town was platted in 1882 by the Milwaukee Land Company and was first known as Marthan. However, there was already a town called Marathon in Iowa, so the name of the town was soon changed to Earling, in honor of Albert J. Earling who in 1882 was division superintendent of the
Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway. (Earling became president of said Railroad on September 23, 1899.)
Earling is well known in
paranormal
Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...
circles for being the site of the
1928 exorcism of Anna Ecklund. Over 23 days in 1928, a
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 ...
Capuchin named
Theophilus Riesinger worked to exorcise demons from Emma Schmidt at the local
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
convent
A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community.
The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...
. One of the priests involved wrote an account several years later in which he made a variety of supernatural claims, including that Ecklund flew threw the air during the exorcism and clung to the wall over a door, that locals noticed strange noises and odors, and that the 23 day exorcism resulted in the expulsion of several demons from Ecklund.
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 of it land.
The city straddles the boundary line between southeast
Union Township and northeast
Westphalia Township.
Mosquito Creek rises near Earling.
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 397 people, 176 households, and 105 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 629.3 inhabitants per square mile (243.0/km
2). There were 186 housing units at an average density of 294.8 per square mile (113.8/km
2). 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 95.5%
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, 0.0%
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 ...
, 0.0% from other races and 3.8% from two or more races.
Hispanic or Latino persons of any race comprised 1.8% of the population.
Of the 176 households, 33.0% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.0% 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, 5.1% were cohabitating couples, 26.7% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present and 22.2% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. 40.3% of all households were non-families. 38.1% of all households were made up of individuals, 22.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years old or older.
The median age in the city was 41.6 years. 25.4% of the residents were under the age of 20; 6.5% were between the ages of 20 and 24; 21.9% were from 25 and 44; 25.4% were from 45 and 64; and 20.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.1% male and 49.9% female.
2010 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 2010, there were 437 people, 175 households, and 102 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 . There were 185 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.9%
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 ...
, 0.2%
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 ...
, 1.4%
Native American, and 0.5% 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 1.1% of the population.
There were 175 households, of which 24.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.3% 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, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.7% were non-families. 36.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.89.
The median age in the city was 50.1 years. 21.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 18.5% were from 25 to 44; 23.1% were from 45 to 64; and 32.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.3% male and 49.7% female.
2000 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 2000, there were 471 people, 181 households, and 114 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 186 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 99.36%
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 ...
, 0.21%
Native American, and 0.42% from two or more races.
There were 181 households, out of which 23.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.4% 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, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.5% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 19.5% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 21.9% from 25 to 44, 15.5% from 45 to 64, and 35.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $29,702, and the median income for a family was $40,417. Males had a median income of $25,417 versus $21,250 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 $15,866. About 5.9% of families and 7.5% 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 7.7% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over.
Education
The
Harlan Community School District operates local public schools. The district serves the towns of
Harlan,
Defiance, Earling,
Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
,
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
and
Westphalia
Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants.
The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...
, the unincorporated communities of
Jacksonville
Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...
and
Corley, and the surrounding rural areas.
References
External links
Earling, IowaComprehensive statistical data and more about Earling
{{authority control
Cities in Iowa
Cities in Shelby County, Iowa