spencer

Spencer, Iowa
—  City  —
Location of Spencer, Iowa
Coordinates: 43°8′43″N 95°8′50″W / 43.14528°N 95.14722°W / 43.14528; -95.14722Coordinates: 43°8′43″N 95°8′50″W / 43.14528°N 95.14722°W / 43.14528; -95.14722
Country	United States
State	Iowa
County	Clay
Area
• Total	11.18 sq mi (28.95 km2)
• Land	11.01 sq mi (28.53 km2)
• Water	0.16 sq mi (0.43 km2)
Elevation	1,312 ft (400 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	11,233
• Density	1,019.9/sq mi (393.8/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes	51301, 51343
Area code(s)	712
FIPS code	19-74280
GNIS feature ID	0465608

Spencer is a city in the state of Iowa (United States), and the county seat of Clay County ^[1]. It is located at the confluence of the Little Sioux and Ocheyedan Rivers. The population was 11,233 in the 2010 census, a decline from 11,317 in the 2000 census. ^[2][3] Spencer is famous as the home of the Clay County Fair, held annually in September, averaging over 300,000 visitors each year. The town's (now-deceased) library cat, Dewey Readmore Books, is known throughout the world.^[4]

Spencer was ranked 10th best place to live in the United States by Relocate-America.com's "America's Top 100 Places to Live for 2007."

Geography

Spencer's longitude and latitude coordinates
in decimal form are 43.145318, -95.147209. ^[5]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.18 square miles (28.95 km²), of which, 11.01 square miles (28.53 km²) of it is land and 0.16 square miles (0.43 km²) is water.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census^[6] of 2010, there were 11,233 people, 5,018 households, and 3,009 families residing in the town. The population density was 1019.9 people per square mile (393.8/km²). There were 5,431 housing units at an average density of 493.1 per square mile (190.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.0% White, 0.5% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 1.3% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.5% of the population.

There were 5,018 households out of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.0% were non-families. 34.7% 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 2.19 and the average family size was 2.80.

In the city the population was spread out with 23% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 23.3% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.5 years. The gender makeup of the city was 47.7% male and 52.3% female.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,970, and the median income for a family was $43,145. Males had a median income of $30,537 versus $21,709 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,153. About 7.3% of families and 9.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.3% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

At one point Great Lakes Airlines was headquartered in Summit Township, Clay County, near Spencer. ^[7][8][9]

Arts and culture

In 2004, the U.S. federal government placed Spencer's downtown business district on the National Register of Historic Places.^[10] Also in 2004, the State Historical Society of Iowa certified the Spencer Downtown Cultural District ^[11] as one of the initial eight such projects across the state. Spencer's proposal for this designation included remodeling the old Spencer Middle School building into a multi-purpose facility with a senior citizen center, affordable housing units, and a restored facade.^[12] Future work on the old Middle School project involves restoration of the historic auditorium.^[13] Also part of the State Historical Society designation is the city's renovation of its Grand Avenue bridge to include commissioned stained glass plates in an Art Deco style.^[14]

Current cultural attractions in Spencer include the Spencer Community Theater, the Parker Historical Museum, public art displays, and the Bogenrief Glass Studio. Arts on Grand ^[15] is a nonprofit organization supporting local area artists with a gallery shop, exhibits, classes, workshops, tours, fundraising events, and other activities. The Curiel-Reynolds School of Visual Arts (CRVA) ^[16] relocated from Detroit to Spencer in 2007.^[17]

Spencer is the site of the library where Dewey Readmore Books was the cat in residence from January 18, 1988, until November 29, 2006. His story is told in Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World, by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter.^[18]

Radio Stations

• KICD-FM (107.7 FM)
• KICD-AM (1240 AM)

Infrastructure

Transportation

Roadway

U.S. Route 18 and U.S. Route 71 combine into one roadway for approximately 3 miles to travel through Spencer. ^[19]

Air travel

The Spencer Municipal Airport is located three miles (5 km) northwest of the business district of Spencer. ^[19]

Notable people

• Vicki Myron, author of Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World ^[20]
• Robert Suderburg, composer, conductor, and pianist
• Richard L. Tierney, author and poet

See also

• Clay County Courthouse

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Spencer, Iowa

Iowa portal

• official City Government website
• Spencer Chamber of Commerce
• Purr 'n' Fur: Dewey Readmore Books, of Spencer Library, Iowa
• Social Networking site of Spencer, Iowa
• City-Data Comprehensive Statistical Data and more about Spencer

v t e Municipalities and communities of Clay County, Iowa, United States County seat: Spencer Cities Dickens Everly Fostoria Gillett Grove Greenville Peterson Rossie Royal Spencer Webb Townships Clay Douglas Freeman Garfield Gillett Grove Herdland Lake Lincoln Logan Lone Tree Meadow Peterson Riverton Sioux Summit Waterford