Ottumwa, Iowa, United States

🇺🇸 Ottumwa is a city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. Located in the state's south-eastern section, the city is split into northern and southern halves by the Des Moines River. The original town was founded on the former camps of Meskwaki Chiefs Wapello and Appanoose. Ottumwa first developed as an industrious city economically based in farm-equipment manufacturing and meatpacking, those being John Deere and John Morrell & Co. (now JBS) respectively. The city is also home to Indian Hills Community College to provide for higher education. Ottumwa is the centre of the Ottumwa Micropolitan Area which includes all of Wapello and Davis counties.

History The city's name derives from the Native American Meskwaki language, translating to "tumbling waters" in reference to the Appanoose Rapids on the Des Moines River.

In May 1843, several investors formed the Appanoose Rapids Company and staked claim to 467 acres of land in the present site of Ottumwa. Their colonization involved claiming land supporting three indigenous settlements. The first official cabin was built in May 1843 after the area was opened to settlement (an earlier cabin built in defiance of this date was destroyed by Army troops at that time). The original platt was titled Louis Ville. In 1844 the city was named as the county seat. The town was severely damaged during the flood of 1851.

In 1857, coal was being mined from the McCready bank, a site along Bear Creek four miles west of Ottumwa. In 1868, Brown and Godfrey opened a drift mine four miles north-west of town. By 1872, Brown and Godfrey employed 300 men and had an annual production of 77,000 tons. In 1880, the Phillips Coal and Mining Company opened a mine two miles north-west of town. In subsequent years, they opened 5 more shafts in the Phillips and Rutledge neighborhoods, just north of Ottumwa. The Phillips number 5 shaft was 140 feet (43 meters) deep, with a 375-HP steam hoist. By 1889, the state mine inspector's report listed 15 mine shafts in Ottumwa. In 1914, the Phillips Fuel Company produced over 100,000 tons of coal, ranking among the top 24 coal producers in the state. Coal mining was so important to the local economy that, from 1890 to 1892, the Coal Palace was erected in Ottumwa as an exhibition center.

John Morrell & Company and their meat packing comples played a significant role in the development of Ottumwa from 1877 to 1973.

When the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad arrived in Ottumwa in September 1859, it ran parallel to the river channel. The availability of rail transportation encouraged both commercial and industrial expansion along the north-west to south-east axis. Access to the south bank of the river at first was by ferry from the foot of Green Street. By 1875 this ferry had been replaced by a bridge, and a number of additions had been made to the city during the first thirty years, all located on the north side of the Des Moines River. As development (almost exclusively residential) climbed the bluffs, the streets on top of the hills were laid out to compass points, rather than parallel to the river. Although there was some development on the south side of the river, South Ottumwa was not brought into the city limits until the 1880s.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.53 square miles (42.81 km²), of which 15.86 square miles (41.08 km²) is land and 0.67 square miles (1.74 km²) is water.

Northeastern Wapello County contains large deposits of coal, and there are also large deposits of clay in the region, which played an important role in the industrial development of Ottumwa.

Ottumwa is the centre of the Ottumwa Micropolitan Statistical Area which includes all of Wapello County.

Demographics

As of the census of 2020, there were 25,529 people, 10,098 households, and 6,048 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,589.5 inhabitants per square mile (613.7/km²). There were 11,254 housing units at an average density of 700.7 per square mile (270.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 74.3% White, 5.4% Black or African American, 0.8% Native American, 2.3% Asian, 2.0% Pacific Islander, 8.6% from other races and 6.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino persons of any race comprised 15.7% of the population.

Of the 10,098 households, 30.8% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.6% were married couples living together, 8.5% were cohabitating couples, 30.6% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present and 21.4% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. 40.1% of all households were non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals, 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years old or older.

The median age in the city was 36.7 years. 27.9% of the residents were under the age of 20; 6.3% were between the ages of 20 and 24; 26.0% were from 25 and 44; 22.9% were from 45 and 64; and 17.0% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.5% male and 50.5% female.

Economy: Top employers According to Ottumwa's 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the top employers in the city were: 1 JBS Live Pork, LLC (subsidiary of JBS USA); 2 Ottumwa Community School District; 3 Ottumwa Regional Health Center; 4 John Deere Ottumwa Works; 5 Winger Companies; 6 Indian Hills Community College; 7 Hy-Vee; 8 Walmart Supercenter; 9 City of Ottumwa; 10 Keurig Dr Pepper; The Quincy Place Mall is a Shopping mall in Ottumwa.

Historic districts • Historic Railroad District • Fifth Street Bluff Historic District • Ottumwa Cemetery • Court Hill Historic District • Vogel Place Historic District • North Fellows Historic District

Historic structures • B'nai Jacob Synagogue • Benson Block • Benson Building 1930 • First National Bank Building 1915 • Foster/Bell House • Hofmann Building • Hotel Ottumwa • J.W. Garner Building • Jay Funeral Home • Jefferson Street Viaduct • Burlington Depot • Ottumwa City Hall • Ottumwa Public Library • Ottumwa Young Women's Christian Association • St. Mary of the Visitation Catholic Church • Trinity Episcopal Church • Wapello County Courthouse

Video games Twin Galaxies, a social media platform, is located in Ottumwa. For this reason, Ottumwa's mayor proclaimed the city the "Video Game Capital of the World" in 1982. The city's proclamation was recognised by U.S. Senator Charles Grassley. The city hosted the first North American Video Olympics in 1982. In 2009, an International Video Game Hall of Fame was planned.

Education The city of Ottumwa and the surrounding rural areas of Wapello County are served by the Ottumwa Community School District.

Ottumwa is served by Ottumwa High School, Evans Junior High, and multiple neighborhood elementary schools including Douma and Liberty on the Southern side of the city, and James, Horace Mann, Wilson, Eisenhower, and Fahrney Elementary serving the Northern side.

Education: University Ottumwa is the home of Indian Hills Community College, a two-year community college. Between 1928 and 1980, it was also home to Ottumwa Heights College, a women's college that merged with Indian Hills in 1979 to create one institution. Indian Hills is located at the former Ottumwa Heights campus. Buena Vista University has a regional campus located here.

Media Paired with Kirksville, Missouri, Ottumwa is a media market region, ranked #201 by Nielsen. Television stations include Fox/NBC/The CW+ affiliate KYOU-TV (channel 15) and K18GU-D (channel 12; translator of KIIN channel 12 in Iowa City). Dual ABC/CBS affiliate KTVO (channel 3) is licensed to and has its main offices near Kirksville, but has a second studio and news bureau in Ottumwa.

The Ottumwa Courier is the primary daily newspaper.

"Ottumwa Radio" is the primary regional radio provider with multiple stations.

Transport Ottumwa Regional Airport is a general aviation airport owned by the City of Ottumwa and is operated by the Airport Advisory Board.

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to the Ottumwa Amtrak station, operating its California Zephyr daily in both directions between Chicago, Illinois, and Emeryville, California, across the San Francisco Bay from San Francisco.

Ottumwa Transit Authority operates bus services throughout the Ottumwa area. The fixed-route system includes five routes and a shopping shuttle. It also operates a para-transit service known as Ottumwa Transit Authority Lift and Job Access Reverse Commute (JARC), a dial-a-ride service geared towards employees. The five routes that operate Monday through Friday are: #1 North, #2 East West, #3 South Residential, #4 South Commercial, and #7 Airport. There are also two routes that operate on Saturday only; no routes operate on Sunday.

10–15 Regional Transit Agency provides a regional dial-a-ride service throughout Appanoose, Davis, Jefferson, Keokuk, Lucas, Mahaska, Monroe, Van Buren, Wapello and Wayne counties.

Currently, U.S. Route 34 and Iowa Highway 149 serve the town, replacing a former segment of U.S. Highway 63. Route 63 now bypasses the town as part of the Burlington to Des Moines expressway. The Jefferson Street Viaduct over the Des Moines River is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Railroads The BNSF Railway has tracks through Ottumwa. This is a major corridor in the Chicago-Omaha line that is double track, and western coal makes up a large percentage of the freight carried on this line. The BNSF tracks travel under U.S. Highway 34, pass through the business district, under the U.S. Highway 63 bridge, cross the Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad tracks at grade, exit Ottumwa, and later cross over the Des Moines River on their way to Albia, Iowa, and later Omaha, Nebraska.

The Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad was acquired by the Canadian Pacific in 2008. Ottumwa is located on the Davenport, Iowa, to Kansas City, Mo. line and is a crew change point.

The Norfolk Southern Railway has trackage rights over the BNSF through Ottumwa.