Burlington is a city in Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. The population was 26,839 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Des Moines County6. Burlington is the center of a micropolitan area including West Burlington and Middletown, Iowa and Gulf Port, Illinois. Burlington is
the home of Snake Alley, the crookedest alley in the world, and has been called the
Backhoe Capital of the World.
History
Prior to American settlement, the area was neutral territory for the Sac and
Fox Indians, who called it "Shoquoquon" (Shok-ko-kon), meaning Flint Hills. [1]
In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson organized two parties of explorers to map out the Louisiana Purchase. Lewis and Clark 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 Iowa
soil and recommended the construction of a fort.
The American Fur Company established a post in the area in 1829. Actual settlement began in 1833, shortly after the Black Hawk Purchase. It was laid out as a town and named Flint Hills in 1834. John B. Gray, the first American to purchase a lot in the settlement, renamed it for his former home,
Burlington, Vermont. Burlington was incorporated as a town in 1837, and was
chartered as a city in 1838 by the territory of Wisconsin.
In 1837, Burlington became the second territorial capital of the Wisconsin Territory. [2] After the Iowa Territory was organized
in the following year, Burlington became its first territorial capital. The government used "Old Zion", the first Methodist
Church in Iowa (located near what is now 3rd and Washington streets), to conduct business of the day. Although this building no
longer exists, a historical marker may be found at its site on Third and Columbia
Streets.
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 Black Hawk. Rorer is said to have found the name in
The Last of the Mohicans while Edwards proposed the nickname to
"...rescue from oblivian [sic] a momento [sic], at least of the name of the old chief."[3]
Burlington was a bustling river port in the steamboat era and
home to the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. The
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q, 1848-1970)
merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad (BN, 1970-1996), which in turn
merged into the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF, 1997-present). Even today one
of the main East-West lines of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad crosses the Mississippi at Burlington.
Geography
Burlington is located at 40°48′29″N, 91°6′57″W (40.808153,
-91.115726)1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area
of 14.8 mi² (38.4 km²). 14.1 mi² (36.4 km²) of it
is land and 0.8 mi² (2.0 km²) of it (5.26%) is water.
Climate
| Weather averages for Burlington |
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Year |
| Average high °F |
30.6 |
35.4 |
48.0 |
62.1 |
72.7 |
81.9 |
85.6 |
82.9 |
75.7 |
64.6 |
49.5 |
34.7 |
|
| Average low °F |
13.1 |
18.0 |
29.5 |
41.2 |
51.8 |
61.0 |
65.5 |
63.0 |
55.0 |
43.7 |
31.8 |
18.9 |
|
| Precipitation inch |
1.3 |
1.2 |
2.8 |
3.7 |
4.1 |
4.2 |
4.3 |
4.2 |
4.0 |
2.9 |
2.5 |
1.9 |
|
| Average high °C |
-00.8 |
01.9 |
08.9 |
16.7 |
22.6 |
27.7 |
29.8 |
28.3 |
24.3 |
18.1 |
09.7 |
01.5 |
|
| Average low °C |
-10.5 |
-07.8 |
-01.4 |
5.1 |
11.0 |
16.1 |
18.6 |
17.2 |
12.8 |
06.5 |
-00.1 |
-07.3 |
|
| Precipitation mm |
32.4 |
29.8 |
71.1 |
93.3 |
105.2 |
107.3 |
108.6 |
105.5 |
101.3 |
74.3 |
64.0 |
49.2 |
|
| Source: worldclimate.com[1] Jun 2007 |
Transportation
The town is served by U.S. Route 34, which is the freeway that goes through the middle
of town and U.S. Route 61. Iowa
Highways 99 and 406 served the town before they were decommissioned in 2003.
Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Burlington, operating its California
Zephyr daily in both directions between Chicago, Illinois, and
Emeryville, California, across the bay from San Francisco.
The Southeast Iowa Regional Airport is located about five miles south
of down town. Commercial service is provided through American Airlines'
"American Connection". This service offers three daily flights to St. Louis. Quad City International Airport,
the area's large international airport, is approximately 70 miles north of the city, in Moline, Illinois.
Burlington Urban Service (B.U.S.) is a transportation system owned and operated by the City of Burlington. Routes service
nearly all areas of Burlington, and nearly 90% of all residents live within 3 city blocks of a bus route. Greyhound Lines
provides daily out-of-town bus service.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 26,839 people, 11,102 households, and 7,105 families
residing in the city. The population density was 1,910.1/mi² (737.6/km²). There were
11,985 housing units at an average density of 853.0/mi² (329.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.6% White, 5.0% 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 2.94.
In the city the population was spread out with 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 were 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, General Electric, Champion Spark Plugs, Vista Bakery, and
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. The largest employer in the area is the Great River Medical Center. Wal-Mart is the largest retail employer in
Burlington.
Culture
Sports
Burlington is the home of the Burlington Bees baseball team, a member of the Class A
Midwest League. The Bees play at Community
Field, which underwent extensive renovation in 2005.
34 Raceway in West Burlington hosts weekly auto racing events through the spring, summer and fall. The track is a 3/8-mile,
semi-banked, clay oval built in 1966 by SamJack Inc. and currently owned by Jeff Laue. The raceway has hosted numerous
prestigious national events since its inception.
Burlington hosts the Snake Alley Criterium, one of the most physically challenging races in
the Midwest. The annual event is held on a fifteen block course, with differences in elevation from 555 feet to 678 feet. The
course is entirely on city streets, mostly in the downtown commercial area. A one block long climb is on the historic brick
street named Snake Alley. The 276 foot long Snake Alley has 5 switchbacks in a sixty foot climb. The average grade is 12.5
percent in that one block.
Media
The Hawk Eye is a morning newspaper published seven days a week. The paper was established in 1838 and is Iowa's oldest
newspaper.
Burlington's radio stations include KAYP 89.9 FM, KKMI 93.5 FM, KCDM 98.3 FM, KDMG 103.1 FM, KGRS 107.3 FM, KCPS 1150 AM, and
KBUR 1490 AM. Burlington residents also listen to stations in nearby communities, most notably, the Quad Cities.
Education
Burlington is also home to a campus of Southeastern Community College.
Notable Natives
- Tony Baker Played in the National Football
League with the New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles Los Angeles Rams, and San Diego Chargers, earned a Pro Bowl selection in 1968.
- Dr. Wallace Carothers, inventor of Nylon
- John Murray Corse, American Civil War
General
- William Frawley, known as Fred Mertz on the
"I Love Lucy" show
- James Wilson Grimes U.S. Senator noted for being the swing vote in the
Impeachment of President Andrew Johnson.
- Frank Hatton, United
States Postmaster General and newspaperman
- Bart Howard, composer and writer of the jazz standard "Fly Me to the Moon"
- Jim Kelly, who piloted the space shuttle's
2005 Return to Flight
- Aldo Leopold, naturalist
- Paul Molitor, Hall of
Fame baseball player who started his professional career with the Bees
- Kay A. Orr, Nebraska Governor and the first Republican
woman Governor
- Robert Noyce, Co-founder of Fairchild
Semiconductor and Intel also credited with the invention of
the integrated circuit or microchip
- Dr. Edward Stone, Former director of the NASA
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Kurt Warner, twice named the National
Football League MVP
Points of interest
See also
External links
Coordinates:
40.808153° N 91.115726°
W
References
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
