Humboldt is a city in Humboldt County, Iowa, United States. The population was 4,792 at the time of the 2020 census, gaining 102 people over the 2010 total.
History Frank A. Gotch Park (just south of present-day Humboldt and Dakota City) was the location of prehistoric and some Dakota Indian villages, near where the two forks of the Des Moines River meet. During westward expansion in the 1800s, this area is thought to have been the location of a fort/trading post called Fort Confederation. According to federal records, in 1825, permission was granted to build the fort to trade with the Ihanktonwan Dakota (Yankton Sioux) Indians. Information about the exact details of the fort are unclear, such as if American, French Canadian, or Metis traders built it, bringing up many questions about this fort.Frontier Forts of Iowa: Indians, Traders, and Soldiers, 1682–1862 (book) by William E. Whittaker
The founder of modern Humboldt, Stephen Harris Taft, laid out the plans for Springvale, the original name of the town, in 1863. It was named Springvale because of the several natural springs found near the Des Moines River. Taft had very big plans for the community, and expected many intellectuals from the East to move to his new community.
Taft had five goals for his idyllic community.
The town shall be surrounded and full of trees and forests. The town shall be free of the sale of intoxicants. The town shall be founded upon a saw mill and grist mill on the Des Moines River The town shall have the moral fortitude of a solid church and good schools, and that it shall become a town of thinkers and beauty. The town shall grow with a college of university importance, and have a church that will not dissent into factions.
Taft undertook the great task of turning empty, blooming prairie into the community of his dreams. He brought out a group of settlers (including a doctor) in 1863, and they lived together in the few houses that had been built. The grist mill was built, known now as the Corydon Brown House."Dr. Daniel P. Russell and his Family." Humboldt County Historical Association. Dr. Russell. Retrieved August 10, 2010. The first few years were spent laying out the town. Taft wanted very wide boulevards throughout the town, and the community is still known for its streets."Humboldt History." City of Humboldt.City of Humboldt Iowa. August 2007. Retrieved August 10, 2010. Taft also edited the Humboldt County True Democrat through the offices of the Fort Dodge Sentinel in Fort Dodge.
Springvale was renamed Humboldt (after the German explorer and naturalist Alexander von Humboldt)Helferich, Gerard (2004). Humboldt's Cosmos. Penguin Group, 345-46. . in hope of a merger between Springvale and Dakota City (the county seat of Humboldt County), but no merger took place."Humboldt History." City of Humboldt.City of Humboldt Iowa. August 2007. Accessed 2007-08-24. This is the first of two major shortcomings that would stunt Humboldt's growth and keep it from reaching Taft's goals.
A meeting in 1866 occurred that formed the Springvale Collegiate Association, led by Taft. After the flood in 1867 that destroyed the town's dam, the issue became popular again in 1869. The association was renamed to Humboldt Collegiate Association in accordance with the town's name change. It was reported that "great enthusiasm" was the feeling in the room, however when the question was posed to the county's voters on October 12, 1869, the measure to appropriate swampland for a Northern Iowa College was defeated. Taft was not defeated, however, and looked East for funding. After almost missing a payment deadline that would've sunk the college for good, Taft broke ground on June 17, 1870. He ended his address by saying "Hundreds are here present today. Tens of thousands shall gather here a hundred years hence to commemorate the birth of the institution and rejoice in the blessings it shall have conferred."
Humboldt College opened its doors on September 13, 1872. The first three years were designed as preparatory work intended to supplement the pupils' public education that ended around eighth grade. The subsequent four years were college work. June 1879 brought the first graduation class of three families. They would be the only students to ever receive a degree from the institution. At this time, Taft and the college were in financial trouble. An endowment fund capable of supporting Taft's vision seemed impossible to create, and following turbulent financial times in the East, the college closed in 1916. The building was razed in 1926, following unsuccessful attempts to rent the structure. Without the college, Taft's dreams of Humboldt becoming an intellectual center of knowledge in the West could not be realized.
In July 1955, when contacts between Americans and Soviets were rare, Humboldt hosted a delegation of Soviet officials (and national and international reporters) for an overnight glimpse of rural American life."Good for the Corn," Time, August 8, 1955, and "Russians Learning Wonders of America," Long Beach Press-Telegram, 1955-7-26, p. A-4 (retrieved from Newspaperarchive.com).
On March 27, 1972, ABC-TV broadcast a half-hour documentary on Humboldt entitled "A Small Town in Iowa." The program was written and produced by Andy Rooney and narrated by Harry Reasoner, a Humboldt native.Linda Johnson, "Why are people leaving Utopia? Utopia is Humboldt, Ia., the residents of which were filmed for an ABC documentary last January, March 26, 1972," Des Moines Register, 1972-03-26, at 3-TV. The show portrayed Humboldt as a kind of paradise that struggled to keep its most talented youth from leaving for larger cities, and asked, "what is it about paradise that's turning the bright kids off?"Editorial, "Paradise is Humboldt, Ia.," Des Moines Register, 1972-03-29, at 6. The answer, according to Reasoner and Rooney, was that "what seems to be missing is more a shortcoming of ours, than of the small town. It is that those of us with ego and ambition are not usually happy performing in front of an audience the size a small town provides."
The First National Bank of Humboldt and its shareholders were the primary victims of what the Des Moines Register described as “one of the most spectacular white-collar crimes in state history.”Mariam Rosen, “Hot Product: World-class Embezzler Gary Lewellyn Rebounds With a Fast-Selling Treatment for A.D.D.,”, Dallas Observer, June 27, 1996 In 1982 Humboldt native Gary Vance Lewellyn, then a Des Moines stockbroker, attempted to pump up the value of the stock of a high-tech company by singlehandedly creating phony market demand for it."Catch Me If You Can: A Stockbroker’s Get-Rich-Quick Scheme Goes Sour," Time, April 26, 1982 To carry out the scheme, he illegally obtained access to bonds of the First National Bank of Humboldt valued at $16.7 million, and secretly pledged the Bank's bonds as security for his personal orders of the company's stock through Wall Street investment firms.Federal Deposit Ins. Corp. v. First Interstate Bank of Des Moines, N.A., 885 F.2d 423, 428–29 (8th Cir. 1989); Federal Deposit Ins. Corp. v. National Ass'n of Securities Dealers, Inc., 582 F.Supp. 72, 73 (S.D. Ia. 1984). When Lewellyn missed margin calls on his stock purchases, the firms obtained the bonds.In re Lewellyn & Co., Inc., 929 F.2d 424, 426 (8th Cir. 1991). Suspicious federal regulators closed the Humboldt Bank when it could not account for its missing bonds (and considered, but rejected, the idea of liquidating it). Its accountholders were protected by federal insurance but the shares in the bank became worthless. For his crime, Lewellyn was sentenced to twenty years in prison,”Lewellyn Gets 20-Year Term,” The New York Times, November 18, 1982 but served only five years. Lewellyn died in 2012."1980s Iowa bank embezzler Gary Lewellyn dead at 63", Des Moines Register, July 5, 2012
Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
Humboldt County is located entirely within the Des Moines Lobe of the Western Corn Belt Plains ecoregion, as defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). One of the flattest regions in Iowa, the Des Moines Lobe ecoregion is a distinctive area naturally defined by Wisconsin glaciation but modified by humans for extensive agriculture. In general, the land is level to gently rolling with some areas of relief defined by glacial features like moraines, hummocky knobs, and kettles, and outwash deposits. The lobe does not have any loess deposits like the Loess Hills to the west.
The stream network is poorly developed and widely spaced, with major rivers carving valleys that are relatively deep and steep-sided. Almost all of the natural lakes of Iowa are found in the northern part of this region (the Iowa Great Lakes). Most of the region has been converted from wet prairie to agricultural use with substantial surface water drainage. Only a small fraction of the wetlands remain, and many natural lakes have been drained as a result of agricultural drainage projects via drainage tiles or ditches.
Climate Humboldt, like almost all of Iowa, has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa). Humboldt experiences all four seasons characterized by cold winters, wet springs, hot summers, and relatively short autumns. Wide temperature ranges are common within this climate zone.
Demographics
2020 census As of the 2020 census, there were 4,792 people, 2,051 households, and 1,234 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,058.1 inhabitants per square mile (408.5/km2). There were 2,256 housing units at an average density of 498.1 per square mile (192.3/km2).
The median age was 40.7 years. 24.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 23.4% were 65 years of age or older. 26.5% of residents were under the age of 20; 4.5% were between the ages of 20 and 24; 23.4% were from 25 to 44; and 22.2% were from 45 to 64. For every 100 females, there were 92.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 90.9 males age 18 and over. The gender makeup of the city was 48.0% male and 52.0% female.
94.2% of residents lived in urban areas, while 5.8% lived in rural areas.
Of the 2,051 households, 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 48.2% were married-couple households, 5.0% were cohabiting-couple households, 18.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 28.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 39.8% of households were non-families, 35.3% were made up of individuals, and 17.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 2,256 housing units, of which 9.1% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.1%.
+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 4,392 91.7% Black or African American 42 0.9% American Indian and Alaska Native 7 0.1% Asian 16 0.3% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0 0.0% Some other race 192 4.0% Two or more races 143 3.0% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 303 6.3%
2010 census As of the census of 2010, there were 4,690 people, 2,091 households, and 1,250 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 2,246 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.9% White, 0.6% African American, 0.1% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 3.0% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.0% of the population.