McGregor is a city in Clayton 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 742 at the time of the 2020 census. McGregor is located 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 ...

across from

Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin Prairie du Chien ( ) is a city in Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 5,506 at the 2020 census. Often called Wisconsin's second-oldest city, Prairie du Chien was established as a European settlemen ...

. Pike's Peak State Park is located just south of the city. Just to the north of McGregor is the city of Marquette. The community of McGregor Heights lies in the southern parts of the city limits.

History

McGregor was founded as MacGregor's Landing in 1847 by Alexandar MacGregor, a descendant of

Rob Roy MacGregor Robert Roy MacGregor (; 7 March 1671 – 28 December 1734) was a Jacobite Scottish outlaw, who later became a Scottish and Jacobite folk hero. Early life He was born in the Kingdom of Scotland at Glengyle, at the head of Loch Katrine, as r ...

, and the area around MacGregor's Landing was settled by the extended family. In 1849 it was reported that the original MacGregor seal and

signet Signet may refer to: *Signet, Kenya, A subsidiary of the Kenyan Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), specifically set up to broadcast and distribute the DTT signals * Signet ring, a ring with a seal set into it, typically by leaving an impression in sea ...

were owned by Alex MacGregor. The Scots Gaelic clan seal was inscribed, "S' Riogal Mo Dhream/ Een dhn bait spair nocht", which was interpreted as "Royalty is my race / End do and spare not". The signet was a bloodstone from

Loch Lomond Loch Lomond (; ) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault (HBF), often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Central Scotland and the Highlands.Tom Weir. ''The Scottish Lochs''. pp. 33-43. Published by ...

, and was sketched by William Williams. Since 1837, MacGregor had been operating a

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

across the Mississippi River between

and the present site of McGregor, Iowa. MacGregor planned the new city as a six block development, and it was quickly populated, being incorporated as McGregor in 1857. In that same year, the Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad finished building a railroad track from

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, thus connecting

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...

with the Mississippi River by rail. McGregor quickly became a major commercial center, and served as a hub where grain from Iowa and

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 ...

could be transported across the Mississippi and sent on to Milwaukee via railroad. For example, around 1860,

Joseph "Diamond Jo" Reynolds Joseph Reynolds (June 11, 1819 February 21, 1891) was an American entrepreneur and founder of the Diamond Jo Line, a transportation company which operated steamboats on the upper Mississippi River. In his youth, while still living in upstate New ...

moved to McGregor in order to establish a grain trading business, and later ran his own steam packets. The Diamond Jo office building still stands in the city. More railroads were built to connect McGregor with cities further west, and the city of North McGregor (now Marquette, Iowa) was established just north of the city to serve as the city's railroad terminus. After reaching McGregor from the west, trains were disassembled and railroad cars were ferried across the Mississippi to continue on towards Lake Michigan. The towns early residents made use of the bedrock to carve cellars into the soft sandstone, used for cold storage and ageing beer; as of 1997 most of the entryways are visible but inaccessible. In 1874, the system of ferrying railroad cars across the river between North McGregor and Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, was brought to an end when Prairie du Chien businessman John Lawler commissioned the construction of a permanent

pontoon bridge A pontoon bridge (or ponton bridge), also known as a floating bridge, is a bridge that uses float (nautical), floats or shallow-draft (hull), draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the support ...

to connect the two cities' rail lines. As the need for men to disassemble and ship trains across the river disappeared, the city's population began to decline. The city's history is preserved in the McGregor Commercial Historic District, which contains many buildings constructed during the city's boom years. Because of its colorful history and location beside the Mississippi River, the city has become a popular summer tourist destination, and it is known for its many antique stores. The city was heavily damaged during a storm on July 19, 2017, with the downtown area being particularly hard hit.

Geography

Mc Gregor lies at the valley floor of nearly vertical sandstone bluffs; the St. Peter Sandstone and Jordan Formation. 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 742 people, 366 households, and 171 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 573.4 inhabitants per square mile (221.4/km²). There were 488 housing units at an average density of 377.1 per square mile (145.6/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 95.3%

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 ...

, 0.4% Black or African American, 0.7% 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 ...

, 0.3% from other races and 2.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino persons of any race comprised 1.5% of the population. Of the 366 households, 15.6% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.2% 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, 7.9% were cohabitating couples, 28.4% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present and 26.5% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. 53.3% of all households were non-families. 45.4% of all households were made up of individuals, 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years old or older. The median age in the city was 53.2 years. 15.5% of the residents were under the age of 20; 4.0% were between the ages of 20 and 24; 19.5% were from 25 and 44; 29.0% were from 45 and 64; and 31.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.9% male and 50.1% female.

2010 census

As of the

of 2010, there were 871 people, 410 households, and 225 families living in the city. The

was . There were 509 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.9%

, 0.1%

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 ...

, 0.3% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.2%

, and 2.0% 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 1.7% of the population. There were 410 households, of which 20.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.8% were

living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 45.1% were non-families. 39.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.02 and the average family size was 2.66. The median age in the city was 48.3 years. 17.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 20% were from 25 to 44; 30.3% were from 45 to 64; and 23.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.0% male and 52.0% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 871 people, 382 households, and 205 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 487 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 99.54%

, 0.23% Native American, 0.11% Asian, and 0.11% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.69% of the population. There were 382 households, out of which 23.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.1% were

living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.1% were non-families. 38.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.12 and the average family size was 2.83. Age spread: 19.1% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 25.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $30,163, and the median income for a family was $37,969. Males had a median income of $27,212 versus $17,344 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 $15,636. About 7.9% of families and 9.9% 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 16.7% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

It is within the MFL MarMac Community School District. The district formed on July 1, 1994 with the merger of the Mar-Mac and M-F-L districts.

Notable people

* Andrew Clemens, sand artist * Marian E. Hubbard, zoologist, Wellesley professor * Dorothy M. Johnson, author * Samuel Merrill, Governor of Iowa from 1868 to 1872 * Joseph "Diamond Joe" Reynolds, steamboat entrepreneur, grain dealer, railroad builder * Ringling brothers, circus * Leo Stanton Rowe, director general of the Pan-American Union from 1920 to 1946 * Lucy Maynard Salmon, American historian, Vassar professor * John Ward Studebaker,

U.S. Commissioner of Education The Commissioner of Education was the title given to the head of the federal Office of Education, which was historically a unit within and originally assigned to the Department of the Interior in the United States. The position was created on March ...

from 1934 to 1948 * Lucy Hobbs Taylor, first woman in the world to earn a degree as Doctor of Dental Surgery * Thomas Updegraff,

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from Iowa *

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...

, American architect lived there as an infant from 1867-1869

References

External links

McGregor-Marquette Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Cities in Iowa Cities in Clayton County, Iowa Iowa populated places on the Mississippi River 1847 establishments in Iowa

History

Geography

Demographics

2020 census

2010 census

2000 census

Education

Notable people

See also

References

External links