Burlington, Iowa

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Coordinates: 40°48′29″N 91°6′57″W / 40.80806, -91.11583
Burlington Shoquoquon Flint Hills
U.S. 34 over the Mississippi River in Burlington. The Great River Bridge connects Burlington and Gulf Port, Illinois.
Location in the state of Iowa ‎
Country	United States
State	Iowa
County	Des Moines
Founded	1833
Government
- Mayor	Mike Edwards
- City Council	Bill Ell Tim Scott Mike Campbell Garry Thomas
Area
- Total	14.8 sq mi (38.4 km²)
- Land	14.1 sq mi (36.4 km²)
- Water	0.8 sq mi (2.0 km²)
Elevation	696 ft (185 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	26,839
- Density	1,910.1/sq mi (737.5/km²)
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	52601
Area code(s)	319
FIPS code	19-09550
GNIS feature ID	0454995
Website: http://www.burlingtoniowa.org/

Burlington is a city in Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. The population was 26,839 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Des Moines County^[1]. Burlington is the center of a micropolitan area including West Burlington, Iowa and Middletown, Iowa and Gulf Port, Illinois. Burlington is the home of Snake Alley, the crookedest alley in the world, and has been called the Backhoe Capital of the World.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Climate
4 Transportation
5 Demographics
6 Economy
7 Culture
8 Notable Natives
9 Points of interest
10 See also
11 External links
12 References

[edit] History

Prior to American settlement, the area was neutral territory for the Sac and Fox Indians, who called it "Shoquoquon" (Shok-ko-kon), meaning Flint Hills. [1]

In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson organized two parties of explorers to map out the Louisiana Purchase. Lewis and Clark followed the Missouri River, while Lt. Zebulon Pike followed the Mississippi River. In 1805, Pike landed at the bluffs below Burlington and raised the United States Flag for the first time on Iowa soil and recommended the construction of a fort.

The American Fur Company established a post in the area in 1829. Actual settlement began in 1833, shortly after the Black Hawk Purchase. It was laid out as a town and named Flint Hills in 1834. John B. Gray, the first American to purchase a lot in the settlement, renamed it for his former home, Burlington, Vermont. Burlington was incorporated as a town in 1837, and was chartered as a city in 1838 by the territory of Wisconsin.

In 1837, Burlington became the second territorial capital of the Wisconsin Territory. [2] After the Iowa Territory was organized in the following year, Burlington became its first territorial capital. The government used "Old Zion", the first Methodist Church in Iowa (located near what is now 3rd and Washington streets), to conduct business of the day. Although this building no longer exists, a historical marker may be found at its site on Third and Columbia Streets.

Iowa's nickname "The Hawkeye State" has its roots in Burlington. At Judge David Rorer's suggestion, publisher James G. Edwards changed The Iowa Patriot newspaper's name to The Hawk-Eye and Iowa Patriot in tribute to his friend Black Hawk. Rorer is said to have found the name in The Last of the Mohicans while Edwards proposed the nickname to "...rescue from oblivian [sic] a momento [sic], at least of the name of the old chief."[3]

Burlington was a bustling river port in the steamboat era and home to the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q, 1848-1970) merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad (BN, 1970-1996), which in turn merged into the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF, 1997-present). Even today one of the main East-West lines of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad crosses the Mississippi at Burlington.

[edit] Geography

Burlington is located at 40°48′29″N, 91°6′57″W (40.808153, -91.115726)^[2].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.8 sq mi (38.4 km²). 14.1 sq mi (36.4 km²) of it is land and 0.8 sq mi (2.0 km²) of it (5.26%) is water.

[edit] Climate

Weather averages for Burlington
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °F	30.6	35.4	48.0	62.1	72.7	81.9	85.6	82.9	75.7	64.6	49.5	34.7	60.3
Average low °F	13.1	18.0	29.5	41.2	51.8	61.0	65.5	63.0	55.0	43.7	31.8	18.9	41.0
Precipitation inches	1.3	1.2	2.8	3.7	4.1	4.2	4.3	4.2	4.0	2.9	2.5	1.9	37.1
Average high °C	-00.8	01.9	08.9	16.7	22.6	27.7	29.8	28.3	24.3	18.1	09.7	01.5	15.7
Average low °C	-10.5	-07.8	-01.4	5.1	11.0	16.1	18.6	17.2	12.8	06.5	-00.1	-07.3	5.0
Precipitation mm	32.4	29.8	71.1	93.3	105.2	107.3	108.6	105.5	101.3	74.3	64.0	49.2	943.0
Source: worldclimate.com^[3] Jun 2007

[edit] Transportation

The town is served by U.S. Route 34, which is the freeway that goes through the middle of town and U.S. Route 61. Iowa Highways 99 and 406 served the town before they were decommissioned in 2003.

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

The Southeast Iowa Regional Airport (IATA code BRL), is located about five miles south of downtown. Commercial service is provided through American Airlines' "American Connection". This service offers three daily flights to St. Louis. Quad City International Airport, the area's large international airport, is approximately 70 miles north of the city, in Moline, Illinois.

Burlington Urban Service (B.U.S.) is a transportation system owned and operated by the City of Burlington. Routes service nearly all areas of Burlington, and nearly 90% of all residents live within 3 city blocks of a bus route. Greyhound Lines and Trailways Transportation System provide daily out-of-town bus service.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 26,839 people, 11,102 households, and 7,105 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,910.1/sq mi (737.6/km²). There were 11,985 housing units at an average density of 853.0/sq mi (329.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.6% White, 5.0% African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.66% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.90% from other races, and 1.43% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.06% of the population.

There were 11,102 households out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.2% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.0% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.0% 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 2.94.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.5% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 90.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,770, and the median income for a family was $40,912. Males had a median income of $33,238 versus $23,003 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,450. About 10.0% of families and 12.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.9% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Economy

Burlington's roots are in transportation and manufacturing. Manufacturing plants are among the largest employers in the area, including companies such as American Ordnance LLC, Case Corporation, General Electric, Champion Spark Plugs, Vista Bakery, and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. The largest employer in the area is the Great River Medical Center. Wal-Mart is the largest retail employer in Burlington.

[edit] Culture

[edit] Sister city

Burlington has one sister city, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):

Barbacena, Brazil

[edit] Sports

The Burlington Bees play the Swing of the Quad Cities in this July 2004 game at Burlington Community Field.

Burlington is the home of the Burlington Bees baseball team, a member of the Class A Midwest League. The Bees play at Community Field, which underwent extensive renovation in 2005.

34 Raceway in West Burlington hosts weekly auto racing events through the spring, summer and fall. The track is a 3/8-mile, semi-banked, clay oval built in 1966 by SamJack Inc. and currently owned by Jeff Laue. The raceway has hosted numerous prestigious national events since its inception.

Burlington hosts the Snake Alley Criterium, one of the most physically challenging races in the Midwest. The annual event is held on a fifteen block course, with differences in elevation from 555 feet to 678 feet. The course is entirely on city streets, mostly in the downtown commercial area. A one block long climb is on the historic brick street named Snake Alley. The 276 foot long Snake Alley has 5 switchbacks in a sixty foot climb. The average grade is 12.5 percent in that one block.

[edit] Media

The Hawk Eye is a morning newspaper published seven days a week. The paper was established in 1838 and is Iowa's oldest newspaper.

Burlington's radio stations include WIUW 89.5 FM, KAYP 89.9 FM, KKMI 93.5 FM, KCDM 98.3 FM, KDMG 103.1 FM, KGRS 107.3 FM, KCPS 1150 AM, and KBUR 1490 AM. Burlington residents also listen to stations in nearby communities, most notably, the Quad Cities.

[edit] Education

Burlington is served by the Burlington Community School District, which has five elementary schools, two middle schools, one high school and one alternative high school Private education is also available for Kindergarten through 12th grade at Notre Dame Catholic School, and Great River Christian School.

Students have also made bomb and shooting threats to the various schools within the Burlington Community School District. The first and most notable being written on a restroom wall in the basement of Oak Street Middle School in 2007. The message read "Shootout at 1:15." The next day's date was also written on the wall. This occurred about two weeks after the Virginia Tech massacre. After the incident, eleven other threats were made. These threats occurred frequently, one causing Burlington Community High School to stay on "modified lock down" throughout the 2007-08 school year. This meant that students were not allowed to walk the halls without an escort or teacher assistant hall pass. None of these threats have ever been carried out.

Burlington is also served by Southeastern Community College.