Marshalltown, Iowa

Marshalltown is a city in Marshall County, Iowa, United States. It is the county seat of Marshall County and the home of Marshalltown Community College. The population was 27,552 at the 2010 census.

History
Henry Anson was the first white settler to the area now known as Marshalltown. In April 1851 Henry Anson found what he called “the prettiest place in Iowa.” On a high point between the Iowa River and Linn Creek Henry Anson built a log cabin. A plaque at 112 West Main Street marks the site of the cabin. Anson’s plan was for the area to become a town. In 1853 Anson named the town Marshall, after Marshall, Michigan, a former residence of his.

The town’s name was changed to Marshalltown in 1862 because another Marshall, Iowa already existed. With the help of Potawatomi chief Johnny Green, Henry Anson persuaded early settlers to stay in the area. In the mid 1850’s Henry Anson donated land for a county courthouse to be built. Residents donated money for the building’s construction. In 1863 the title of county seat was transferred from the village of Marietta to Marshalltown. The young town began to grow. By 1900, Marshalltown was home to 10,000 residents. Many industries began to develop in Marshalltown, such as Fisher Controls, Lennox International and Marshalltown Company.

Baseball
Adrian Constantine "Cap" Anson, son of Henry and Jennette Anson, was the first white child born in the new pioneer town and is today known as Marshalltown’s “first son”. Adrian became a Major League Baseball player and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939. He was regarded as one of the greatest players of his era and one of the first superstars of the game.

Baseball steadily became popular as Marshalltown grew in the mid 1800’s. Adrian’s brother Sturgis also became a talented baseball player and both went to play on intra-school teams at the University of Notre Dame. Both later returned to Marshalltown to play baseball for the town team. Along with their father Henry, the town’s founder, they put together a team and became the most prominent team in the state of Iowa. The Marshalltown team, with Henry Anson at third base, Adrian's brother Sturgis in center field, and Adrian at second base, won the Iowa state championship in 1868. In 1870 Marshalltown played an exhibition game with the talented Rockford Forest Citys. Although Marshalltown lost the game, Rockford’s management offered contracts to all three of the Ansons. Adrian accepted the contract, which began his professional career in baseball in 1871.

Baseball continued its popularity in Marshalltown. In the early 1880s Billy Sunday played for the town baseball team. In 1882, with Sunday in left field, the Marshalltown team defeated the state champion Des Moines team 13-4. Marshalltown later formed a minor league team naming it after the Anson family, the Marshalltown Ansons. From 1914-1928 the team played in the Central Association and Mississippi Valley League.

Geography
Marshalltown is located at °N, °W (42.041742, 92.914580).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.04 square miles (46.7 km²) in Central Marshall County. 19.0 square miles (46.7 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.11%) is water. Neighboring counties include Hardin and Grundy to the North, Tama County to the east, Jasper to the south, and Story County to the west.

Demographics
As of the Census of 2000, there were 26,009 people, 10,175 households, and 6,593 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,442.7 people per square mile (557.0/km²). There were 10,857 housing units at an average density of 602.2 per square mile (232.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 86.8% White, 1.3% African American, 0.4% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 8.6% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.6% of the population.

There were 10,175 households out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.5% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.2% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.5% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,688, and the median income for a family was $45,315. Males had a median income of $32,800 versus $23,835 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,113. About 8.8% of families and 12.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.5% of those under age 18 and 10.6% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

 * Local Businesses


 * Interface Sealing Solutions - A manufacturer of gaskets and light assemblies
 * Fakespace (A Mechdyne Company) - immersive, networked and collaborative visualization systems
 * Fisher Controls - manufacturer of process control valves and accessories
 * Lennox - manufacturer of furnaces and air-conditioners
 * The Marshalltown Company - manufacturer of American tools for many construction and archaeological applications
 * RACOM Corporation - Wireless voice, data and video communications for the Public Safety Industry
 * Swift & Company - meatpacking plant
 * Wolfe Clinic - Eye, Ear, Nose, and Throat specialists

Public schools
Marshalltown Community School District

Elementary schools

 * Anson Elementary, Grades K-4
 * Fisher Elementary, Grades K-4
 * Franklin Elementary, Grades K-4
 * J.C. Hoglan Elementary, Grades K-4
 * Rogers Elementary, Grades K-4
 * Woodbury Elementary, Grades K-4

Middle school

 * Lenihan Intermediate School, Grades 5-6
 * Miller Middle School, Grades 7-8

High school

 * Marshalltown High School, Grades 9-12

Private schools
Marshalltown Area Catholic School

Marshalltown Christian School, Grades PreK-8

Higher education

 * Marshalltown Community College

History of Marshalltown Schools
Franklin Elementary School was originally built in 1913, but was later destroyed and replaced with another one in its place with the same name. The new building was constructed in the early 1990s and opened at the start of the 1995-1996 school year. The school currently enrolls 400 students and employs 60 staff members.

Lenihan Intermediate School was initially built in 1965 as a Catholic high school. Construction cost $775,000. It was designed to house 300 students. After five years in operation the administrators of Lenihan High School found it was financially impossible to continue providing quality education for their students. At the same time, the public school in Marshalltown was overcrowded with students at the junior high school level. The solution decided upon by both parties was to sell Lenihan to the public school system and to make the school a 7, 8, 9 junior high. The transaction was completed and Lenihan Junior High became a reality in the fall of 1970. The Catholic school name, mascot and school colors were all retained in the new public junior high school.

The need for additional space at Lenihan Junior High resulted in the construction of six rooms on the east side of the building in 1975. The addition consisted of three regular classrooms, an art room and two industrial arts facilities.

In the late 1970s Lenihan Junior High’s enrollment was in the 470’s but then declined to a total of approximately 400 students. In 1984, the 6th grade was added to the school, which briefly put the enrollment over 500. However, with declining enrollment the school housed between 400-450 students in grades 6-9 in the later part of the 1980s. In the spring of 1988, the school board voted to close Lenihan at the end of the 1989 school year. An increase in population coupled with troubles equally distributing resources between two middle schools—Miller Middle School and Anson Middle School—led to a reorganization and unification of grades 5 and above within the city. Anson Middle School was closed as a school and now houses the district's Building and Grounds Department. Lenihan Junior High after its closure had served in various administrative functions, but the Marshalltown Community School District renovated it and the building became Lenihan Intermediate School which opened for the 2006-2007 school year.

Transportation
U.S. Highway 30 bypasses the town to the south, while Iowa Highway 14 runs through the center of town. A expressway, Iowa Highway 330, runs to Des Moines.

Marshalltown has a local bus service (Marshalltown Municipal Transit or MMT), taxicab services, shuttle car service to Des Moines International Airport, and is also served by Trailways Coach Nationwide.

A municipal airport serves the county approximately four miles north of town. The closest commercial flights are in Des Moines, 53 miles to the southwest.

Notable people

 * Adrian Constantine Anson "Cap" (1852–1922) Major League Baseball player and manager, Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939
 * Jerry Burke pianist and organist from The Lawrence Welk Show
 * Jeff Clement Baseball player for University of Southern California, drafted to the Seattle Mariners in 2005 and currently plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
 * T. Nelson Downs World renowned stage magician known as the "King of Koins" for his sleight of hand work,visited in Marshalltown by magic notables (i.e.Houdini and Dai Vernon)
 * Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher (1885–1973) Commander during the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway
 * Benjamin T. Frederick U.S. Representative, Marshalltown city councilman
 * Joseph Kosinski (1974– ) director of the disney film Tron Legacy
 * Milo Lemert (1890–1918) Received the Medal of Honor for his actions during World War I.
 * Frank Hawks Record breaking aviator during the 1920s and 1930s.
 * Anna Arnold Hedgeman (1899–1990) African American civil rights leader.
 * Wally Hilgenberg (1942–2008) American football player
 * Mary Beth Hurt Actress
 * Toby Huss Actor
 * Lance Corporal Darwin Judge (1956–1975) One of the last two soldiers to be killed in the Vietnam War.
 * Dave Lennox Inventor and businessman. Founded Lennox furnace manufacturing business in Marshalltown in 1895
 * Allie Morrison (1904–1966) American wrestler World and Olympic champion.
 * Jim Rayburn (1909–1970) Founder of Young Life. secondary source supporting relationship to Marshalltown
 * Jean Seberg Actress
 * Lee Paul Sieg Former president of the University of Washington
 * Billy Sunday (1862–1935) a Major League Baseball player and Christian evangelist of the early 20th century.
 * Michelle Vieth Mexican soap opera actress star
 * Henry Haven Windsor (1859–1924), American author, magazine editor, publisher, and founder/first editor of Popular Mechanics.

Sister cities
Marshalltown has two official sister cities.


 * 🇷🇺 Budyonnovsk, Stavropol Krai, Russia
 * 🇯🇵 Minami-Alps, Yamanashi prefecture, Japan