Burlington, Iowa
Burlington is a city in and the county seat of Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. The population was 23,982 in the 2020 census, a decline from the 26,839 population in 2000. Burlington is the center of a micropolitan area, which includes West Burlington and Middletown, Iowa, and Gulfport, Illinois. Burlington is the home of Snake Alley, the crookedest street on earth.
History
Prior to European settlement, the area was neutral territory for the Sauk and Meskwaki peoples, who called it Shoquoquon, meaning Flint Hills.In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson organized two parties of explorers to map the Louisiana Purchase. The Lewis and Clark Expedition followed the Missouri River, while Lt. Zebulon Pike followed the Mississippi River. In 1805, Pike landed at the bluffs below Burlington and raised the United States Flag for the first time on what would become Iowa soil and recommended construction of a fort. The recommendation went unheeded.
The American Fur Company of John Jacob Astor established a post in the area in 1829. Settlement began in 1833, shortly after the Black Hawk Purchase, when Samuel White, Amzi Doolitle, and Morton M. McCarver crossed the Mississippi River from Big Island and staked claims there. According to an account A.T. Andreas wrote in 1875, White erected a cabin in the area, later platted to be Front Street between Court and High streets. Andreas called White and Doolittle the Romulus and Remus of their settlement, referring to the mythic heroes who founded Rome, a city surrounded by hills. A few weeks later, William R. Ross joined them and established a general store. In November and December, he surveyed the settlement for White and Doolittle.
In the spring of 1834 they allowed John Gray, who purchased the first lot with his wife Eliza Jane, to rename the town for $50. Gray chose to name it Burlington in honor of his hometown in Vermont. The Grays' daughter Abigail was born in Burlington that same year, the first European-descended American settler child born on Iowa soil.
In 1837, Burlington was designated the second territorial capital of the Wisconsin Territory. The Iowa Territory was organized in the following year, and Burlington was named as its first territorial capital. The government used "Old Zion", the first Methodist Church in Iowa, to conduct its business. A historical marker commemorates the site of the church and early territorial government.
On May 22, 1849, Maj. William Williams visited Burlington, writing a brief description in his journal:
In April 1885, economist Henry George gave a speech titled "The Crime of Poverty" at the Burlington Knights of Labor local advocating for a citizen's dividend paid for by a land value tax.
Iowa's nickname, "The Hawkeye State", has its roots in Burlington. At Judge David Rorer's suggestion, publisher James G. Edwards changed The Iowa Patriot newspaper's name to The Hawk-Eye and Iowa Patriot in tribute to his friend, Chief Black Hawk. Rorer is said to have found the name in James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans, but Edwards proposed the nickname to "...rescue from oblivion a momento, at least of the name of the old chief."
Burlington was a bustling river port in the steamboat era and a central city to the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. The "Burlington Route" merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad, which in turn merged into the BNSF Railway. The "Burlington" name has been given to one of the United States' largest railroads. One of BNSF's main east-west lines, the Ottumwa subdivision, still crosses the Mississippi at Burlington.
In 1970, the community had its highest ever population.
In the late twentieth century, retail expanded with suburbanization of the population. After purchasing Benner Tea, Aldi opened its first store in the United States at Burlington in 1976. Westland Mall opened in nearby West Burlington in 1977.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which is land and is water.Climate
Demographics
2020 census
As of the census of 2020, there were 23,982 people, 10,629 households, and 6,145 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,663.8 inhabitants per square mile. There were 12,016 housing units at an average density of 833.7 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 81.1% White, 9.5% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 1.4% from other races and 6.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino persons of any race comprised 3.8% of the population.Of the 10,629 households, 25.6% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.5% were married couples living together, 8.7% were cohabitating couples, 32.6% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present and 21.3% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. 42.2% of all households were non-families. 35.5% of all households were made up of individuals, 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years old or older.
The median age in the city was 41.6 years. 24.2% of the residents were under the age of 20; 5.5% were between the ages of 20 and 24; 24.0% were from 25 and 44; 25.4% were from 45 and 64; and 20.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.
2010 census
As of the 2010 census, there were 25,663 people, 10,938 households, and 6,693 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 11,899 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 81.2% White, 14.2% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.7% from other races, and 2.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.1% of the population.There were 10,938 households, of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.9% were married couples living together, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 38.8% were non-families. 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.89.
The median age in the city was 39.7 years. 23.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.6% were from 25 to 44; 26.5% were from 45 to 64; and 17.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.1% male and 51.9% female.
2000 census
As of the 2000 census, there were 26,839 people, 11,102 households, and 7,105 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 11,985 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 86.6% White, 10.0% African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.66% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.90% from other races, and 1.43% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.06% of the population.There were 11,102 households, out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.2% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.0% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.0% 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 4.94.
Age spread: 24.5% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $33,770, and the median income for a family was $40,912. Males had a median income of $33,238 versus $23,003 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,450. About 10.0% of families and 12.6% of the population was below the poverty line, including 20.9% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
Burlington's roots are in transportation and manufacturing. Manufacturing plants are among the largest employers in the area, including companies such as American Ordnance LLC, Case Corporation, ABB, Champion Spark Plugs, Shearer's Foods and Winegard Company. The largest employer in the area is the Great River Medical Center. Among the oldest businesses in Burlington, the Murray factory which has been in operation in Burlington since before 1900, the original building on Central St. and Washington St. which was divided by the local train tracks, was recently razed. Another long-lived business is Case Corporation, which has been at its current location on Des Moines Avenue, approximately a quarter-mile from the Mississippi River, since 1937. The first backhoes rolled off the assembly line at the Burlington plant in 1957, which is now the only plant in the United States that produces the Case Loader/Backhoe, giving Burlington the nickname "Backhoe Capital of the World". Case is now a division of the Italian holding group CNH Industrial. Employment at Case peaked in the 1980s, according to the Des Moines Register, then declined after "Case initiated a wave of buyouts and early retirements in the 1990s and early 2000s, and ended the contract with the union in 2004"; but in May 2010, the Register reports, Case announced that "it will open a new line that builds corn-picker heads for combines, as early as " and that by mid-2013 it will add more than 200 positions.Over the last several years, several businesses have either left the area or relocated elsewhere. These businesses include Exide, makers of vehicle batteries, CAT, Case Corporation's closest competitor in American made construction equipment, and Lehigh-Leopold, makers of office furniture. This has left some former manufacturing plants around the city empty, but other businesses have moved into them; PPG, maker of auto safety glass has moved into the former CAT plant, and a warehouse has moved into the former Leopold building. In March 2012, the Des Moines Register reported that "Unemployment here is 7.6 percent, compared with the 5.4 percent state average".
In 2022 Ben Jacobs of The New Republic wrote that the area's economy had more problems related to late 20th century globalization compared to that of Dubuque, Iowa.