Laurens is a city in

Pocahontas County, Iowa Pocahontas County is a county located in Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 7,078, making it the state's ninth-least populous county. The county seat is Pocahontas. The county was formed in 1851. The county is named ...

, United States. Its population was 1,264 at the 2020 census.

History

Laurens was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ted in 1881. It was named in honor of

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

and

John Laurens John Laurens (October 28, 1754 – August 27, 1782) was an American soldier and statesman from South Carolina during the American Revolutionary War, best known for his efforts to help recruit slaves to fight for their freedom as U.S. soldiers. ...

, father and son, two French Huguenots who became residents of

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, and were loyal to the Colonies during the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

Geography

Laurens is located at (42.847105, -94.849542). 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 1,264 people, 577 households, and 346 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 1,670.0 inhabitants per square mile (644.8/km²). There were 691 housing units at an average density of 913.0 per square mile (352.5/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 87.0%

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 ...

, 1.8% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.9% 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 ...

, 2.7% from other races and 7.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino persons of any race comprised 7.3% of the population. Of the 577 households, 25.8% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.8% 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, 9.9% were cohabitating couples, 23.1% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present and 23.2% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. 40.0% of all households were non-families. 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals, 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years old or older. The median age in the city was 43.8 years. 24.4% of the residents were under the age of 20; 3.6% were between the ages of 20 and 24; 24.1% were from 25 and 44; 25.6% were from 45 and 64; and 22.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.2% male and 49.8% female.

2010 census

At the 2010 census there were 1,258 people in 571 households, including 332 families, in the city. The population density was . There were 677 housing units at an average density of . The racial makup of the city was 97.5% White, 0.3% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 0.6% from other races, and 0.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.4%. Of the 571 households 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.5% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.9% were non-families. 36.8% of households were one person and 16.4% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.80. The median age was 45.6 years. 22% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 20.6% were from 25 to 44; 29.5% were from 45 to 64; and 21.2% were 65 or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.3% male and 50.7% female.

2000 census

At the 2000 census there were 1,476 people in 656 households, including 400 families, in the city. The population density was . There were 711 housing units at an average density of . The racial makup of the city was 98.68% White, 0.14% Native American, 0.41% Asian, and 0.75% from two or more races. 1.08% of the population were Hispanic .01% Brazilian .02 Frenchor Latino of any race. Of the 656 households 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.0% were non-families. 36.9% of households were one person and 22.0% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.84. 24.0% are under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 25.5% 65 or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.3 males. The median household income was $33,188 and the median family income was $43,661. Males had a median income of $31,063 versus $19,716 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,711. About 4.8% of families and 7.4% 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 7.0% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Laurens is home to the Laurens–Marathon Community School District. It was a part of the Laurens Community School District until its consolidation into Laurens–Marathon on July 1, 1976. All grades are located in one building in Laurens. In 2000 the enrollment was 423 for all grades, and there were about 40 full-time teaching staff. High school students from Laurens–Marathon have attended Pocahontas Area High School since 2017.

In popular culture

Laurens was the home of Alvin Straight, a 73-year-old man famous for travelling on a

lawnmower A lawn mower (also known as a grass cutter or simply mower, also often spelled lawnmower) is a device utilizing one or more revolving blades (or a reel) to cut a grass surface to an even height. The height of the cut grass may be fixed by the ...

. His story was made into the film '' The Straight Story'' (1999), directed by

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...

and starring

Richard Farnsworth Richard William Farnsworth (September 1, 1920 – October 6, 2000) was an American actor and stuntman. He was twice nominated for an Academy Award: in 1978 for Best Supporting Actor for '' Comes a Horseman,'' and in 2000 for Best Actor in ' ...

(who received an Oscar-nomination for his performance) and

Sissy Spacek Mary Elizabeth "Sissy" Spacek (; born December 25, 1949) is an American actress and singer. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Sissy Spacek, numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, including ...

. It was filmed partly in Laurens. "Laurens, Iowa" is also the title of an instrumental song in its soundtrack.

Sister city

Laurens, France, became a

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

to Laurens, Iowa, during the preparations for the 2007 quasquicentennial (125th anniversary).

Notable people

* Jesse Schmidt, record breaking

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for the

Iowa Barnstormers The Iowa Barnstormers are a professional indoor football team based in Des Moines, Iowa, that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). They play their home games at Wells Fargo Arena, known in indoor football circles as "The Well". Sever ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

* Alvin Straight, a 73-year-old man famous for travelling 240 miles on a

; his story was made into the film '' The Straight Story'' *Becky Stoner,

Miss Iowa USA The Miss Iowa USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Iowa in the Miss USA pageant. It is directed by Future Productions based in Savage, Minnesota since 2008. While Iowa has not been greatly successful ...

1969 * Fred C. Gilchrist, member of the Iowa House of Representatives for one term, in 1902–1904. He also served as president of the board of education of Laurens from 1905 to 1928. Returning to legislative service, he served the Iowa Senate from 1923 to 1931. He served seven terms as a Republican U.S. Representative from Iowa from 1933–44. * Adrian Lynch, a pitcher for the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

of the American Baseball League. He broke into the big leagues on August 4, 1920, but played in only five games. His record was 2–0 with a 5.24 ERA.

References

External links

Laurens–Marathon SchoolUnofficial Laurens website
Comprehensive Statistical Data and more about Laurens {{authority control Cities in Iowa Cities in Pocahontas County, Iowa