Newton is the county seat of and the most populous city in Jasper County, Iowa, United States. Located east of Des Moines, Newton is in Central Iowa. As of the 2020 Census, the city population was 15,760. It is the home of Iowa Speedway and Maytag Dairy Farms.
History Early history
Newton was founded in 1846 as Newton City, then shortened to Newton in 1847 and incorporated as a city in 1857. It was named to pair with Jasper County, following a common American naming scheme at the time in honor of Revolutionary War soldiers John Newton and William Jasper. In the late 19th century, Newton's growth was fueled by the development of coal mines in the region. The first significant mine in the area was the Couch mine of the Jasper County Coal and Railway Company, opened in the 1870s. For a while, it was the largest mine in the county, producing 70 tons per day. William Snooks opened a mine near Newton in 1886.James H. Lees, History of Coal Mining in Iowa, Chapter III of Annual Report, 1908, Iowa Geological Survey, 1909, pages 564–565. In the early 20th century, large scale mining in the Newton area had declined, but there were still several mines in the area that were worked intermittently.Henry Hinds, The Coal Deposits of Iowa, Chapter I of Annual Report, 1908, Iowa Geological Survey, 1909, pages 161–163
Maytag and the era of growth In the 20th century, Newton was a manufacturing community, much of its growth derived from the washing machine industry. Its most distinctive landmark, the Jasper County Courthouse, was built in 1911.
Newton entered the national stage in 1938 when martial law was declared during a strike at the Maytag Washing Machine Company. Iowa governor Nelson Kraschel ordered the Iowa National Guard to protect the company with tanks and machine guns ready against the workers. With the backing of four troops (companies) of the 113th Cavalry Regiment,Steven E. Clay, U.S. Army Order of Battle 1919–1941, Fort Leavenworth: Combat Studies Institute Press, p. 635. Maytag company beat the strike and forced workers to return to work with a 10% pay cut.
At the conclusion of World War II, the Maytag Washing Machine Company expanded its operations in Newton, becoming the Maytag Corporation. Known for its dependable line of washing machines and clothes dryers, the company later persuaded the town of Newton to change the name of its headquarters address in the city to "One Dependability Square."Maytag's Brand Blunder, BrandCultureTalk.com, January 9, 2009 In 2001, a decision to cut labor costs resulted in a reduction of the labor force at the Newton plant in favor of newer Maytag facilities in Mexico.Pitt, David, Moves to Mexico Fuel Fears at Maytag, Deseret News (Salt Lake City), August 6, 2003 Layoffs at the Newton plant continued through 2005. Whirlpool's acquisition of Maytag in early 2006 led to speculation over the future of Maytag operations in Newton. On May 10, 2006, Whirlpool announced that it would close the Newton plant and corporate offices in the fall of 2007. The plant employed about 1,000 workers and the corporate offices employed about 800 at the time of the announcement.
In January 2007, Whirlpool said in a statement that it sold most of the Maytag headquarters complex to Iowa Telecommunications Services Inc., a Newton-based telephone company which would use the complex to consolidate employees in a single location.
Although the company did not disclose financial details, Newton economic development officials said Iowa Telecom paid $1.5 million for the buildings assessed at more than $12 million.Ryberg Bill, Donnelle Eller, and Jennifer Jacobs. – "Maytag to Close: What it Means to Newton". – The Des Moines Register. – May 10, 2006. The Maytag plant officially ended production on October 25, 2007.
"Newton's future" and the rebound after Maytag After Maytag announced its departure, community leaders and City administration worked together to develop a plan to diversify Newton's economy. After the Maytag plant closed, unemployment skyrocketed—rising to almost 10%. In 2010, Jasper County had the highest unemployment rate of Iowa's 99 counties at 8.2%. However, in the following years, the unemployment rate dropped considerably—down to 5.4% in 2013. More impressively, Newton's population did not drop following the departure of Maytag. Newton has had a steady population of about 15,000 since the 1960s.
Between 2007 and 2017, the following companies started in or moved to Newton: Underwriter's Laboratory, Trinity Structural Towers, TPI Composites, Aureon, Walter G. Anderson, the Iowa Speedway, Health Enterprises, Engineered Plastics Company, Pact Manufacturing, Advanced Wheel Sales, and Hawkeye Stages.
Legacy Plaza, the former Maytag corporate campus, contains eight buildings dating back to the early 1900s. The site was donated to Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) by Reza Kargarzadeh in 2016.
Green manufacturing and sustainability One of the industrial sectors Newton has attracted in recent years is green manufacturing. In December 2007, TPI Composites announced plans to open a plant to manufacture massive wind turbine blades, which are now in production. Today, TPI Composites employs over 1,100 people and has expanded its operations by 100,000 square feet as they began manufacturing composite bus bodies with Proterra.
Additionally, Trinity Structural Towers, a company which manufactures wind turbine towers, opened in 2008. President Barack Obama visited the Trinity Structural Towers plant on April 22, 2009, that year's Earth Day. While at the factory in Newton, the President said that he traveled to the factory to usher in "a new era of energy exploration in America."Obama, Barack. "Remarks by the President in Newton, IA " White House Office of the Press Secretary, April 22, 2009.
Newton was awarded the National Sustainable Community of the Year Award (Small City Category) by Siemens and the US Chamber of Commerce in 2010 for its successful, pro-active approach to recovery.
Newton's future: a comprehensive plan In 2012, the Newton City Council passed "Newton's Future: A Comprehensive Plan." The Comprehensive Plan was written with the input of Newton citizens and reflects the community's goals for the future; the top goals identified in the plan were to grow Newton's population with an emphasis toward targeting young families, increase employment opportunities, improve the City's curb appeal, and fill vacant buildings and increase local shopping options.
Arts and culture Newton is passionate in its support of the arts and culture.
Visual arts and sculpture
Newton has an active arts community, with several non-profit organizations dedicated to the arts and many artists residing in the city.
The Iowa Sculpture Festival was an annual event hosted in Newton which began in 2002. The purpose and goal of the Iowa Sculpture Festival is to celebrate the development and growth of sculpture as an art form and to feature artists who create sculptures. The weekend-long event featured both local and internationally accomplished artists. The annual event ended in 2017.
Newton features more than 100 displays of public art with sculptures and painted murals throughout the community. The Iowa Sculpture Festival Committee sponsors a self-guided year-round sculpture and mural tour.
The Centre for Arts and Artists opened in Newton in 2005. The Centre for Arts and Artists is composed of 10 resident artist studios, a clay and kiln room, a therapeutic art room for children, a classroom, an extensive art and sculpture collection as well as a gift shop. Classes for all ages are taught at the Centre throughout the year.
Performing arts In addition to having an active visual arts community, Newton also has an active music and theater community. Each summer, Newton hosts the Bowlful of Blues, a blues festival at the Maytag Bowl featuring renowned blues artists from across the county such as John Primer, Walter Trout, Shaun Murphy, Willie Kent, and others.
Additionally, the City of Newton puts on free weekly concerts at the Maytag Bowl throughout the summer in an event called "Concerts at the Bowl." This event features local bands of all genres. The Newton City Band, a full concert band composed of Newton citizens, also performs at this event.
The Newton Community Theater performs several shows each year ranging from large-cast musicals, such as Les Misérables, to small cast ensemble plays, such as The Dixie Swim Club.
Historic preservation
In February 2014, Newton was selected to take part in the Main Street Iowa program, which is a coordinating program for the Main Street America program and part of the Iowa Economic Development Authority. Newton Main Street is a 501(c)3 organization with a goal of economic development within the context of historic preservation. In September 2014, Newton's downtown was designated to the National Register of Historic Places. The district has 87 properties within it.
The Fred Maytag Park Historic District, which includes Maytag Bowl, Maytag Park and Maytag Pool, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in November 2010.
Newton has several other places listed on the National Register of Historic Places including the Thomas Arthur House, August H. Bergman House, Emerson Hough Elementary School, the Jasper County Courthouse, and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church.
The Jasper County Historical Museum is located on the southwest est side of Newton and features historical artifacts from throughout Newton's history, including many early-model washing machines manufactured by Maytag. The museum is managed by the Jasper County Historical Society.
Other arts and culture Newton began hosting Newton Fest in 2015. The annual celebration is meant to celebrate the arts, food, music, history and more.
Newton also hosts the Miss Iowa USA and Miss Teen Iowa USA Pageants annually. The winners of these competitions go on to represent Iowa at the Miss USA Pageants.
Newton is home to one of America's first business aircraft. The aircraft was a Travel Air 6000 owned by Harry Ogg, owner of the Automatic Washing Machine Company and was named "Smiling Thru".
Entertainment, recreation and sports
In 1919, E.H. Maytag, the son of Maytag Appliance company founder F.L. Maytag, purchased a single Holstein cow to provide fresh clean milk to his children. Upon E.H.’s death in 1940, his sons Fred and Robert Maytag assumed leadership of the farms and Fred pursued his idea of creating a uniquely American blue cheese made from cow's milk. Maytag Dairy Farms collaborated with Iowa State University to pioneer the first great American blue cheese that could compete with classic European cheeses such as Roquefort made from sheep's milk. The cheese plant and caves were completed a year later and the first wheels of Maytag Blue Cheese were formed in October 1941. 77 years after Fred made the first wheels of Maytag Blue Cheese, the leadership of the company is transitioning to his grandchildren—the great-grandchildren of E.H. Maytag.
Newton has two historic movie theaters that are still in operation. The Valle Drive in is one of four drive-in theaters still in operation in Iowa. The Valle Drive in is the oldest of all of these theaters, having opened in 1948. The Capitol II Theater is located in the historic downtown district of Newton and has been in operation since April 1927; originally operating as a vaudeville theater.
Newton is home to Iowa Speedway, a 7/8-mile racing track purchased by NASCAR in 2014. It is the only short track owned by NASCAR west of the Mississippi River. The track hosts a series of races throughout the summer, including NASCAR Cup Series, IndyCar Series, Indy Lights and ARCA Menards Series races.