Mediapolis is a city in Des Moines 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. Its population was 1,688 at the time of the 2020 census. It is part of the Burlington, IA– IL Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Mediapolis was founded in the year 1869. It was first a train station for the city of Kossuth, Iowa at a point on the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Minnesota Railway (later part of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific) between Burlington and Wapello. ''Media,'' meaning "middle," was appended to ''polis,'' meaning "village," as Mediapolis is halfway between Wapello and Burlington. From 1875 to the mid 20th century, Mediapolis was a railroad junction where the Burlington and Northwestern Railway to

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

(later a branch of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy) met the original north–south line. The

Rock Island Railroad The original Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock. At ...

ceased operation in 1980, leading to the abandonment of the north–south line through Mediapolis. One heavy industry remains two miles southwest of town, the

United States Gypsum USG Corporation, also known as United States Gypsum Corporation, is an American company which manufactures construction materials, most notably drywall and joint compound. The company is the largest distributor of wallboard in the United State ...

Sperry mine. This is a shaft mine 620 feet deep, opened in 1961 and employing approximately 200 people as of 2010. Of these, only 25 to 50 actually work in the mine. Underground, the mine extends 1.5 miles west and 1.75 miles south of the shaft. This is a

room and pillar Room and pillar or pillar and stall is a variant of breast stoping. It is a mining system in which the mined material is extracted across a horizontal plane, creating horizontal arrays of rooms and pillars. To do this, "rooms" of ore are dug out wh ...

mine with 37-foot pillars separating roads 37 feet wide on a square grid. On August 10, 1998, former

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

running back Tony Baker was killed on U.S. Route 61, just south of Mediapolis.

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 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 1,688 people, 640 households, and 420 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 1,400.9 inhabitants per square mile (540.9/km²). There were 684 housing units at an average density of 567.7 per square mile (219.2/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 93.3%

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 ...

, 1.4% Black or African American, 0.0% Native American, 0.1% 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 ...

, 0.6% from other races and 4.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino persons of any race comprised 1.4% of the population. Of the 640 households, 36.9% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.9% 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, 6.6% were cohabitating couples, 26.6% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present and 15.9% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. 34.4% of all households were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals, 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years old or older. The median age in the city was 36.2 years. 30.9% of the residents were under the age of 20; 4.4% were between the ages of 20 and 24; 24.6% were from 25 and 44; 21.9% were from 45 and 64; and 18.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.3% male and 52.7% female.

2010 census

As of the

of 2010, there were 1,560 people, 628 households, and 407 families residing in the city. The

was . There were 680 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.5%

, 0.3%

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 ...

, 0.1% Native American, 0.3% from other races, 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 1.0% of the population. There were 628 households, of which 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were

living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.2% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.96. The median age in the city was 41.6 years. 24% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.6% were from 25 to 44; 26.2% were from 45 to 64; and 19.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.3% male and 50.7% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,644 people, 644 households, and 439 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 684 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 99.09%

, 0.12%

, 0.18% Asian, 0.06% from other races, and 0.55% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.67% of the population. There were 644 households, out of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.0% were

living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.8% were non-families. 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.92. 24.8% are under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 23.1% are 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.2 males.

School

On the north side of Mediapolis is the Mediapolis Community School District, an elementary, middle, and high school serving Mediapolis and a large rural area around Mediapolis. The school's sports teams are the Bulldogs and Bullettes.

Notable people

* William P. Battell, Major General and former Quartermaster General of the Marine Corps. *

Virginia Christine Virginia Christine (born Virginia Christine Ricketts; March 5, 1920 – July 24, 1996) was an American stage, radio, film, television, and voice actress. Though Christine had a long career as a character actor, character actress in film and ...

, American actress, graduated in 1937 from Mediapolis High School. * Vernon "Bud" McLearn (1933–1999) Iowa basketball coach

References

External links

City of Mediapolis
Portal style website, Government, Library, Recreation and more

Comprehensive Statistical Data and more about Mediapolis {{authority control Cities in Iowa Cities in Des Moines County, Iowa Burlington, Iowa micropolitan area 1869 establishments in Iowa