Washta is a city in Cherokee 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 209 at the time of the 2020 census. It is called "The Coldest Spot in Iowa", recording a temperature of without

wind chill Wind chill (popularly wind chill factor) is the sensation of cold produced by the wind for a given ambient air temperature on exposed skin as the air motion accelerates the rate of heat transfer from the body to the surrounding atmosphere. Its va ...

on January 12, 1912. Washta's name dates back to 1868 when a local man named Whisman turned his farm into a trading post/mail stop for the freight train going from Correctionville, Iowa, to

Cherokee, Iowa Cherokee is a city and the county seat of in Cherokee County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,199 at the 2020 Census, down from 5,369 in 2000. History Cherokee was laid out as a town in 1870, and was named for the Southeast Indian ...

. He was asked to be the official

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

for the area. When asked what the name of his town would be, he recalled an interesting encounter with two Native Americans the year before: While Whisman was out hunting, the two came upon him, removed his gun, looked at it, and handed it back while saying, ''Wash-tay, Wash-tay'', meaning "good". Changing the pronunciation slightly, Whisman decided he would call the town Washta.

Geography

Washta is situated near the

Little Sioux River The Little Sioux River is a river in the United States. It rises in southwestern Minnesota near the Iowa border, and continues to flow southwest for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Ma ...

. 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 209 people, 97 households, and 61 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 206.8 inhabitants per square mile (79.9/km²). There were 117 housing units at an average density of 115.8 per square mile (44.7/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 93.8%

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, 0.0% 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 ...

, 0.5% from other races and 5.7% 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 0.5% of the population. Of the 97 households, 23.7% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.4% 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, 9.3% were cohabitating couples, 27.8% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present and 17.5% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. 37.1% of all households were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals, 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years old or older. The median age in the city was 52.1 years. 19.6% of the residents were under the age of 20; 2.4% were between the ages of 20 and 24; 20.1% were from 25 and 44; 31.6% were from 45 and 64; and 26.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.8% male and 50.2% female.

2010 census

As of the

of 2010, there were 248 people, 110 households, and 73 families residing in the city. The

was . There were 123 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 99.2%

, 0.4% Asian, and 0.4% 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 2.4% of the population. There were 110 households, of which 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.9% were

living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 33.6% were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.77. The median age in the city was 45.8 years. 21.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 19.2% were from 25 to 44; 28.6% were from 45 to 64; and 23.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.2% male and 52.8% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 282 people, 117 households, and 69 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 133 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 100.00%

or Latino of any race were 0.71% of the population. There were 117 households, out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.9% were

living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.2% were non-families. 33.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.14. In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.2% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $30,673, and the median income for a family was $35,455. Males had a median income of $22,639 versus $18,750 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 $13,025. About 11.1% of families and 13.6% 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 22.8% of those under the age of 18 and 6.3% of those 65 or over.

Education

The River Valley Community School District operates public schools serving the community. It was established on July 1, 1996, by the merger of the Eastwood Community School District and the Willow Community School District.

References

{{authority control Cities in Cherokee County, Iowa Cities in Iowa