Waverly, Iowa
Encyclopedia
Waverly is a city in Bremer County, Iowa
, United States
. The population was 9,874 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat
of Bremer County and is part of the Waterloo
–Cedar Falls
Metropolitan Statistical Area
.
The sister city of Waverly is the German city of Eisenach
, which is famous for the Wartburg castle
. Waverly is also the home of Wartburg College
which is named after this castle.
during the Blackhawk War of 1832, the Winnebago
were forced to cede their lands east of the Mississippi and to move to Neutral Ground in what is now northeastern Iowa. They were to receive $270,000 ($10,000 per year for 27 years) and were required to surrender several of their tribesmen accused of murdering whites during the war. At that time there were three tribes living in the area, the Winnebagoes numbering about 500, the Mesquakie numbering about 100 and the Pottawattomies numbering about 50. With Iowa statehood in 1846, the Winnebago were moved again. In an 1845 treaty, the Winnebago exchanged their Iowa lands for the 800000 acres (3,237.5 km²) Long Prairie (Crow Wing River) reserve in Minnesota and $190,000. In 1848 a detachment of United States troops from Fort Atkinson, Iowa
came to enforce the removal. All told, between 1840 and 1863 the Winnebagoes were moved five times. They were pushed first to northeastern Iowa, then to Long Prairie, Minnesota, then to Blue Earth, Minnesota, then to Crow Creek, South Dakota. In 1865, after the constant upheaval cost 700 tribal members’ lives, the current Winnebago Reservation in Nebraska was established by the treaties of 1865 and 1874. The tribe lost more than two thirds of this land in the General Allotment Act of 1887. By 1913, only 120000 acres (485.6 km²) of cropland, woodland, and pasture remained. The tribe is federally recognized and organized under the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act
. The Winnebago Tribe established a constitution in 1936 which was amended in 1968.
William Patterson Harmon came to Waverly in the spring of 1853 with the idea of establishing a town and a saw mill. He purchased most of what is now Waverly from the United States Government for $1.25 an acre. The area was incorporated as a town on April 25, 1859, according to the Library of the State of Iowa. (A centennial celebration was held in August 1956.) Two stories exist on how the town was named. The speaker at the ceremony was said to have been a fan of the Sir Walter Scott’s
Waverly Novels
and when it came time to name the town (which settlers had wanted to call Harmonville or Harmon) he inadvertently called it Waverly. The myth goes that Jennie Harmon Case later wrote that it was her father who was the speaker and that he made the decision to name the town after the favorite book, instead of the proposed "Harmonville." Coincidentally, Bremer County’s name also honors a person eminent in literature. Bremer was named in 1850 by Governor Hempstead
, who was an admirer of the Swedish feminist author Fredrika Bremer
.
The first school was started by Charles Ensign in a log cabin in 1854. A stone school house was erected by 1855, and additional schools were built in 1861 and 1868. The first graduating class of the Waverly High School was the class of 1875 with two students. Wartburg College moved to Waverly from Clinton, Iowa in 1856. The public library was established in 1866.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 11.5 square miles (29.8 km²), of which 11.2 square miles (29 km²) is land and 0.3 square mile (0.776996433 km²)(2.70%) is water.
of 2010, there were 9,874 people and 3,732 households present in the city. The population density
was 897.1 people per square mile (310.3/km²). There were 3,394 housing units at an average density of 304.0 per square mile (117.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.3% White, 1.7% African American, 0.1% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.12% from other races
, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.3% of the population.
There were 3,238 households out of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.1% were married couples
living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.8% were non-families. 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.7% 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 2.90.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.5% under the age of 18, 20.4% from 18 to 24, 21.5% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 88.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $39,587, and the median income for a family was $52,656. Males had a median income of $36,369 versus $22,031 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $18,285. About 2.1% of families and 6.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.0% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.
, maintained by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
, is a four-year liberal-arts college in Waverly that opened in 1852. As of the 2006–2007 school year, the college had an enrollment of 1,800 students.
Waverly-Shell Rock School District is made of seven schools including five elementary schools, a junior high and a high school. The district strives "to create a passion for learning that will sustain students for a lifetime". In the 2005–06 school year this district had 2,020 K-12 students of whom 1,823 were regular education students and 197 special education students. Thirty-four of the special education students are served in Greenview High School, an alternative high school program. Waverly-Shell Rock Senior High completed building a new auditorium and gymnasium in 2008.
Saint Paul's Lutheran School "is committed to providing quality education in an environment where Christian faith is taught, learned and lived." school year 139 students were enrolled in K-6 and 87 students in preschool. More than half of the students come from neighboring congregations and assistance is given to families who demonstrate financial need. The school offers a Gifted and Talented program, a "Partners in Education Program" which allows students and residents at Bartels Lutheran Retirement Community to work together, and several several unique opportunities in the fine arts.
The fire department is a volunteer fire department
of between 30-40 citizens.
Waverly is a leader in the use of renewable energy. In 1993 Waverly Light & Power Company became the first public power system in the Midwest to own and operate wind generation. The Zond 80 kW turbine was installed on a farm just outside of the city. In 1999 two 75 kW turbines were added near Alta, Iowa. They are part of the 259 turbines on a wind farm near Storm Lake. In 2001 the first turbine was replaced by a http://wlp.waverlyia.com/docs/skeet4.pdf 90 kW turbine which as produced 111,000kwh in 15 days. WLP has set a goal known as "20 by 20-20" which means they are striving to generate 20% of its energy with renewable sources by the year 2020. The latest step in reaching that goal is to build a new ISEP energy park in Dallas County.
Waverly Light & Power has also been instrumental in development of soybean based transformer oil.
(ELCA) clergy. One estimate in the 1990s suggested Waverly had 37 ordained ELCA clergy, with a population of about 9,000. This estimate was made during the days preceding the ELCA decision regarding Called to Common Mission
. If accurate, this would equal a ratio of 1 clergy member for every 243 people.
Waverly is also home to St. John Lutheran Church, which is affiliated with the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod
.
, a Marvel Comics
character who is part of the Avengers (comics)
superhero group, puts his birthplace in Waverly, Iowa.
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 9,874 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Bremer County and is part of the Waterloo
Waterloo, Iowa
Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the population decreased by 0.5% to 68,406. Waterloo is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the more populous of the two...
–Cedar Falls
Cedar Falls, Iowa
Cedar Falls is a city in Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States, and it is home to one of Iowa's three public universities, the University of Northern Iowa. The population was 39,260 in the 2010 census, an increase from the 36,145 population in the 2000 census...
Metropolitan Statistical Area
Waterloo-Cedar Falls metropolitan area
The Waterloo–Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of three counties in Iowa, anchored by the cities of Waterloo and Cedar Falls...
.
The sister city of Waverly is the German city of Eisenach
Eisenach
Eisenach is a city in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated between the northern foothills of the Thuringian Forest and the Hainich National Park. Its population in 2006 was 43,626.-History:...
, which is famous for the Wartburg castle
Wartburg Castle
The Wartburg is a castle situated on a 1230-foot precipice to the southwest of, and overlooking the town of Eisenach, in the state of Thuringia, Germany...
. Waverly is also the home of Wartburg College
Wartburg College
Wartburg College is a selective four-year liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in Waverly, Iowa. Wartburg West is in Denver, Colorado....
which is named after this castle.
Indian reservation
The first permanent residents of Waverly were settled there against their will. Because of their alleged assistance given to Chief Black HawkBlack Hawk (chief)
Black Hawk was a leader and warrior of the Sauk American Indian tribe in what is now the United States. Although he had inherited an important historic medicine bundle, he was not one of the Sauk's hereditary civil chiefs...
during the Blackhawk War of 1832, the Winnebago
Ho-Chunk
The Ho-Chunk, also known as Winnebago, are a tribe of Native Americans, native to what is now Wisconsin and Illinois. There are two federally recognized Ho-Chunk tribes, the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin and Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska....
were forced to cede their lands east of the Mississippi and to move to Neutral Ground in what is now northeastern Iowa. They were to receive $270,000 ($10,000 per year for 27 years) and were required to surrender several of their tribesmen accused of murdering whites during the war. At that time there were three tribes living in the area, the Winnebagoes numbering about 500, the Mesquakie numbering about 100 and the Pottawattomies numbering about 50. With Iowa statehood in 1846, the Winnebago were moved again. In an 1845 treaty, the Winnebago exchanged their Iowa lands for the 800000 acres (3,237.5 km²) Long Prairie (Crow Wing River) reserve in Minnesota and $190,000. In 1848 a detachment of United States troops from Fort Atkinson, Iowa
Fort Atkinson, Iowa
Fort Atkinson is a city in Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 389 at the 2000 census. It is home to the historic Fort Atkinson State Preserve and hosts a large annual fur-trapper rendezvous each September...
came to enforce the removal. All told, between 1840 and 1863 the Winnebagoes were moved five times. They were pushed first to northeastern Iowa, then to Long Prairie, Minnesota, then to Blue Earth, Minnesota, then to Crow Creek, South Dakota. In 1865, after the constant upheaval cost 700 tribal members’ lives, the current Winnebago Reservation in Nebraska was established by the treaties of 1865 and 1874. The tribe lost more than two thirds of this land in the General Allotment Act of 1887. By 1913, only 120000 acres (485.6 km²) of cropland, woodland, and pasture remained. The tribe is federally recognized and organized under the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act
Indian Reorganization Act
The Indian Reorganization Act of June 18, 1934 the Indian New Deal, was U.S. federal legislation that secured certain rights to Native Americans, including Alaska Natives...
. The Winnebago Tribe established a constitution in 1936 which was amended in 1968.
Settlement
Frederick Cretzmeyer is credited with being the first settler in Waverly, having purchased 160 acre (0.6474976 km²) in 1852, he built a log hut on the east side of the Cedar River (or what was once called the Red Cedar River). Soon more homes were constructed as other settlers arrived, with some of their later homes built just over the hill behind the old recycling center.William Patterson Harmon came to Waverly in the spring of 1853 with the idea of establishing a town and a saw mill. He purchased most of what is now Waverly from the United States Government for $1.25 an acre. The area was incorporated as a town on April 25, 1859, according to the Library of the State of Iowa. (A centennial celebration was held in August 1956.) Two stories exist on how the town was named. The speaker at the ceremony was said to have been a fan of the Sir Walter Scott’s
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....
Waverly Novels
Waverley (novel)
Waverley is an 1814 historical novel by Sir Walter Scott. Initially published anonymously in 1814 as Scott's first venture into prose fiction, Waverley is often regarded as the first historical novel. It became so popular that Scott's later novels were advertised as being "by the author of...
and when it came time to name the town (which settlers had wanted to call Harmonville or Harmon) he inadvertently called it Waverly. The myth goes that Jennie Harmon Case later wrote that it was her father who was the speaker and that he made the decision to name the town after the favorite book, instead of the proposed "Harmonville." Coincidentally, Bremer County’s name also honors a person eminent in literature. Bremer was named in 1850 by Governor Hempstead
Stephen P. Hempstead
Stephen P. Hempstead was the second Governor of Iowa. A Democrat, he served from 1850 to 1854.-Biography:...
, who was an admirer of the Swedish feminist author Fredrika Bremer
Fredrika Bremer
Fredrika Bremer was a Swedish writer and a feminist activist. She had a large influence on the social development in Sweden, especially in feminist issues.-Background:...
.
The first school was started by Charles Ensign in a log cabin in 1854. A stone school house was erected by 1855, and additional schools were built in 1861 and 1868. The first graduating class of the Waverly High School was the class of 1875 with two students. Wartburg College moved to Waverly from Clinton, Iowa in 1856. The public library was established in 1866.
Geography
Waverly's longitude and latitude coordinates in decimal form are 42.726530, -92.475366.According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 11.5 square miles (29.8 km²), of which 11.2 square miles (29 km²) is land and 0.3 square mile (0.776996433 km²)(2.70%) is water.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2010, there were 9,874 people and 3,732 households present in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 897.1 people per square mile (310.3/km²). There were 3,394 housing units at an average density of 304.0 per square mile (117.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.3% White, 1.7% African American, 0.1% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.12% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.3% of the population.
There were 3,238 households out of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.1% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.8% were non-families. 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.7% 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 2.90.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.5% under the age of 18, 20.4% from 18 to 24, 21.5% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 88.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $39,587, and the median income for a family was $52,656. Males had a median income of $36,369 versus $22,031 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $18,285. About 2.1% of families and 6.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.0% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Wartburg CollegeWartburg College
Wartburg College is a selective four-year liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in Waverly, Iowa. Wartburg West is in Denver, Colorado....
, maintained by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...
, is a four-year liberal-arts college in Waverly that opened in 1852. As of the 2006–2007 school year, the college had an enrollment of 1,800 students.
Waverly-Shell Rock School District is made of seven schools including five elementary schools, a junior high and a high school. The district strives "to create a passion for learning that will sustain students for a lifetime". In the 2005–06 school year this district had 2,020 K-12 students of whom 1,823 were regular education students and 197 special education students. Thirty-four of the special education students are served in Greenview High School, an alternative high school program. Waverly-Shell Rock Senior High completed building a new auditorium and gymnasium in 2008.
Saint Paul's Lutheran School "is committed to providing quality education in an environment where Christian faith is taught, learned and lived." school year 139 students were enrolled in K-6 and 87 students in preschool. More than half of the students come from neighboring congregations and assistance is given to families who demonstrate financial need. The school offers a Gifted and Talented program, a "Partners in Education Program" which allows students and residents at Bartels Lutheran Retirement Community to work together, and several several unique opportunities in the fine arts.
Government
The City of Waverly has a Mayor Council form of government. The City has a professional City Administrator that is hired by the City Council. There is a 7 member City Council: 5 elected members from wards, 2 members elected at-large. The Mayor is elected by all citizens.Police and Fire departments
Waverly's police department consists of sixteen officers.The fire department is a volunteer fire department
Volunteer fire department
See also the Firefighter article and its respective sections regarding VFDs in other countries.A volunteer fire department is a fire department composed of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction.The first organized force of...
of between 30-40 citizens.
Utilities
Renewable energyWaverly is a leader in the use of renewable energy. In 1993 Waverly Light & Power Company became the first public power system in the Midwest to own and operate wind generation. The Zond 80 kW turbine was installed on a farm just outside of the city. In 1999 two 75 kW turbines were added near Alta, Iowa. They are part of the 259 turbines on a wind farm near Storm Lake. In 2001 the first turbine was replaced by a http://wlp.waverlyia.com/docs/skeet4.pdf 90 kW turbine which as produced 111,000kwh in 15 days. WLP has set a goal known as "20 by 20-20" which means they are striving to generate 20% of its energy with renewable sources by the year 2020. The latest step in reaching that goal is to build a new ISEP energy park in Dallas County.
Waverly Light & Power has also been instrumental in development of soybean based transformer oil.
Health care
Waverly Health Center is a 25-bed critical access hospital in Waverly. Waverly Health Center provides inpatient care, ambulatory surgery, outpatient services, specialty clinics and emergency room care to area residents. More than 50 health care providers and visiting specialists care for patients at Waverly Health Center, allowing area residents local access to specialized care. Waverly Health Center is accredited by the Joint Commission.Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Waverly may have the highest national per capita concentration of ordained Evangelical Lutheran Church in AmericaEvangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...
(ELCA) clergy. One estimate in the 1990s suggested Waverly had 37 ordained ELCA clergy, with a population of about 9,000. This estimate was made during the days preceding the ELCA decision regarding Called to Common Mission
Called to Common Mission
Called to Common Mission is an agreement between The Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America , establishing full communion between them. It was ratified by the ELCA in 1999, the ECUSA in 2000, after the narrow failure of a previous agreement. Its principal author on the...
. If accurate, this would equal a ratio of 1 clergy member for every 243 people.
Waverly is also home to St. John Lutheran Church, which is affiliated with the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod
Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod
The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With 2.3 million members, it is both the eighth largest Protestant denomination and the second-largest Lutheran body in the U.S. after the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The Synod...
.
Notable people
- G. Vernon BennettG. Vernon BennettGuy Vernon Bennett , also known as G. Vernon Bennett, was superintendent of schools in Pomona, California; a professor of education at the University of Southern California, and a Los Angeles city councilman from the 10th District from 1935 to 1951...
, city council member in Los Angeles, California - A. J. HinchA. J. HinchAndrew Jay Hinch is the current vice president of professional scouting for the San Diego Padres. He is a former Major League Baseball catcher and a former manager. Hinch played for the Oakland Athletics , Kansas City Royals , Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies , and managed the Arizona...
(1974– ) former Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
catcherCatcherCatcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
1998–2004 and a former managerManager (baseball)In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized... - Allan J. KuetheAllan J. KuetheAllan J. Kuethe is an American historian specializing in Latin American studies. He is a distinguished Paul Whitfield Horn professor at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, an honor named for the first president of Texas Tech...
, American historian and specialist in Latin American studies born in Waverly in 1940 - John Sladek (1937–2000) science fictionScience fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, mysteryMystery fictionMystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
and non-fictionNon-fictionNon-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
author secondary sourceSecondary sourceIn scholarship, a secondary source is a document or recording that relates or discusses information originally presented elsewhere. A secondary source contrasts with a primary source, which is an original source of the information being discussed; a primary source can be a person with direct...
supporting relationship to Waverly - Michael TalbottMichael TalbottMichael Talbott is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his co-starring role as Det. Stanley Switek in the 1980s series Miami Vice....
, an actor best known for his role in TV's Miami Vice
Media references
The fictional biography of HawkeyeHawkeye (comics)
Hawkeye , also known as Goliath and Ronin, is a fictional character that appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Tales of Suspense #57 and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Don Heck. Hawkeye joined the Avengers in Avengers Vol. 1 #16 Hawkeye...
, a Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
character who is part of the Avengers (comics)
Avengers (comics)
The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
superhero group, puts his birthplace in Waverly, Iowa.
External links
- Welcome to Waverly Portal style website, Government, Library, Chamber of Commerce and more
- School website
- Waverly-Shell Rock Area United Way Website
- City-Data Comprehensive Statistical Data and more about Waverly