Janesville is a city in Black Hawk and Bremer counties in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 ...

. The population was 1034 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Waterloo– Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Janesville was founded in 1849 by John T. Barrick, a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

and

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

who had relocated to Iowa from

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. According to the book, "The Janesvillians, Volumes I and II" by Maxine Leonard, John T. Barrick built the first mill and frame house in the area. He platted the town of Janesville, which he named in honor of his wife, Jane McPherson Barrick.Leonard, Maxine.''The Janesvillians,''Salem, MA: Hinningson, 1974 (reprinted 2006) A post office was established in 1854. It has been established that a tunnel once existed under the business district of Janesville. The tunnel ran between basements and below buildings on both sides of Janesville's Main Street, crossing below the street in the center of town and continuing westward to the Cedar River. One branch of the tunnel continued northward, connecting to the site of Fort John, a shelter built to protect settlers during the

Ho-Chunk The Ho-Chunk, also known as Hocąk, Hoocągra, or Winnebago are a Siouan languages, Siouan-speaking Native Americans in the United States, Native American people whose historic territory includes parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois ...

uprising in June, 1854. The tunnel terminated in the basement of the home of Abel Crail, who later served in Union Army in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, and was the first Commander of Janesville Post No. 172,

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (United States Navy, U.S. Navy), and the United States Marine Corps, Marines who served in the American Ci ...

. According to local legend, the Barricks and other townsfolk sympathetic to their cause aided in the escape of runaway slaves as part of the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

. Slaves were moved through Janesville from Grinnell and continued to

Decorah Decorah is the largest city in and county seat of Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,587 at the time of the 2020 census. Decorah is located at the intersection of State Highway 9 and U.S. Route 52. Located within the ...

and into southeastern

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. The tunnel has since been filled in and no longer exists. People claim to have seen these tunnels and that in fact they still exist to this day. Janesville was a farming community with a population of 311 in 1900, according to the Iowa Data Cente

The town's population increased to just 445 by 1950. Due to its proximity to Waterloo-Cedar Falls, the population of Janesville increased to 840 by 1980, when the town was referred to as a " commuter town, bedroom community". During the farm crisis and economic recession that hit Northeast Iowa in the 1980s, Janesville's population declined slightly. Since the mid-1990s, with the completion of the four lane bypass U.S. Highway 218 /

Iowa Highway 27 O scale (or O gauge) is a scale commonly used for toy trains and rail transport modelling. Introduced by German toy manufacturer Märklin around 1900, by the 1930s three-rail alternating current O gauge was the most common model railroad sca ...

, known as the "

Avenue of the Saints The Avenue of the Saints is a highway in the Midwestern United States that connects St. Louis, Missouri, and St. Paul, Minnesota. __TOC__ Route description Missouri The southern end of the Avenue of the Saints is at exit 28A on Interstate ...

"

Janesville's population is again increasing. New residential subdivisions continue to develop within the city of Janesville and the surrounding area

Geography

Janesville is located on the county line between Bremer and Black Hawk counties, and is bisected by the Cedar River. 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 1,034 people, 419 households, and 283 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 731.4 inhabitants per square mile (282.4/km²). There were 455 housing units at an average density of 321.8 per square mile (124.3/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 97.0%

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, 0.0% Native American, 0.5% 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 2.5% 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 1.2% of the population. Of the 419 households, 33.9% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.1% 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, 4.8% were cohabitating couples, 22.2% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present and 17.9% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. 32.5% of all households were non-families. 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals, 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years old or older. The median age in the city was 42.5 years. 25.4% of the residents were under the age of 20; 3.2% were between the ages of 20 and 24; 26.5% were from 25 and 44; 25.6% were from 45 and 64; and 19.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.4% male and 50.6% female.

2010 census

As of the

of 2010, there were 930 people, 398 households, and 262 families residing in the city. The

was . There were 409 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.4%

, 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% Asian, 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 0.3% of the population. There were 398 households, of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.8% were

living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.2% were non-families. 28.1% 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 2.34 and the average family size was 2.90. The median age in the city was 40.2 years. 24.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.5% were from 25 to 44; 25.3% were from 45 to 64; and 18.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.6% male and 50.4% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 829 people, 349 households, and 246 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 359 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 99.16%

, 0.36% Asian, and 0.48% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.24% of the population. There were 349 households, out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.2% were

living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.5% were non-families. 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.83. 22.7% are under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $40,060, and the median income for a family was $47,143. Males had a median income of $31,488 versus $21,481 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 $18,878. About 2.5% of families and 3.5% 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 3.2% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

;Janesville Public Library The Janesville Public Library was created in 1962 with the inspiration of Clark Corwin with help from Hattie Zo Shoesmith and Margaret Theis. The library started as an all volunteer and all donated materials library in a room located in the city hall. Arlene Warm volunteered her services as a librarian. In the late 1960s, the city council authorized a 200 dollar a year grant for the library. In 1973, the library received a $10,000 (~$ in ) grant from the Kinney Lindstrom Foundation that had to be matched by the local public. These funds allowed the library to expand into a new area. the library has approximately 10,000 books, 55 magazine and newspaper subscriptions, 1,200 videos, 85 audio tapes, 6 computers for patron access, and offers audio book downloads. The library has an average of 1,000 patrons each month. ;Riviera Ballroom Author Deb (Mather) Renner wrote a book, released December 15, 2010 and published by The Printery in Waverly, about the Riviera Ballroom that was torn down and replaced with the Riviera Roose center. Madge and Heine Kurtz opened the ballroom in 1951 and it closed in the late 1980s. Renner was a graduate of Janesville high school in 1982.

Education

Janesville and the surrounding area, including the unincorporated town of Finchford, are served by the Janesville Consolidated School District. The public school district serves approximately 335 students, pre-Kindergarten through 12th Grade. Extensive renovations and an addition to the Janesville schools were completed in early 2008, funded by operating surpluses.http://www.wcfcourier.com/special/JanesvilleSchool.pdf Students at Janesville High School can choose to take advanced courses at nearby Waverly-Shell Rock High School in Waverly, the

University of Northern Iowa The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States. UNI offers more than 90 majors across five colleges. The fall 2024 total enrollment was 9,283 students. The university was initially founded in 1 ...

in Cedar Falls, and Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo.

Wartburg College Wartburg College is a Private college, private Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Lutheran Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Waverly, Iowa. History Wartburg College was founded in 1852 in Saginaw, Michig ...

is located in nearby Waverly.

Notable people

Bill Dix William C. Dix is a Republican politician and farmer from Shell Rock, Iowa. He was formerly the Majority Leader of the Iowa Senate representing Senate District 25, which covers Butler, Grundy, Hardin, and Story Counties. He served as the C ...

, Republican, former member of Iowa Legislature, Janesville High School Class of 1981 * Albert J. Loveland, Democrat, former U.S. Under-Secretary of Agriculture and candidate for U.S. Senate, 1950

References

External links

City Data
Comprehensive statistical data and more about Janesville {{authority control Cities in Black Hawk County, Iowa Cities in Bremer County, Iowa Cities in Iowa Waterloo – Cedar Falls metropolitan area 1849 establishments in Iowa Populated places established in 1849