Lucas, Iowa
Lucas, Iowa | |
|---|---|
 Location of Lucas, Iowa | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Iowa |
| County | Lucas |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1.0 sq mi (2.5 km2) |
| • Land | 1.0 sq mi (2.5 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 892 ft (272 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| • Total | 243 |
| • Density | 251.4/sq mi (97.0/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code | 50151 |
| Area code | 641 |
| FIPS code | 19-47100 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0458673 |
Lucas is a city in Lucas County, Iowa, United States. The population was 243 at the 2000 census.
History
The Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Company established a station at Lucas in 1866, named after Lucas County and Robert Lucas. A plat for the town was filed on May 9, 1868 and the town was incorporated on March 18, 1887.[1] The town grew slowly until coal was discovered in the area.[2]
In 1876, the Whitebreast Coal and Mining Company began working a 250 foot shaft one mile east of Lucas. This proved successful, and in 1878, they platted a company town there, which they named Cleveland 41°1′57.21″N 93°26′38.71″W / 41.0325583°N 93.4440861°W. By 1880, Cleveland had a population of 380, and the first mine was producing 650 to 700 tons of coal per day by the labor of 280 miners and 33 mule drivers. A second mine was opened 3/4 of a mile from the first, and the two mines sold coal to the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, and several other railroads to the south and west.[3] Very little remained of Cleveland by the 1930s.[4]
In 1893, the Lucas Coal Company was working a 2-foot coal seam 83 feet down, employing 24 men.[5]
The Big Hill mine in Lucas worked a 4-foot thick coal seam 274 feet below the surface using room and pillar methods,[6] with a shaft not far from the Burlington station. This mine was closed in April 1904 and stripped of equipment, but by mid 1905, plans were in place to reopen it.[7] The reopening lasted until 1907, when the mine was closed again. The problem was, the rock directly above the coal was sandstone and it was saturated with water.[8] This mine is noteworthy because John L Lewis got his first coal mining job here, before going on to head the United Mine Workers of America.
In 1919, Lucas was home to the second most productive coal mine in Iowa, Mine No. 2 of the Central Iowa Fuel Company. This produced 217,169 tons of coal that year and employed 360 men.[9]
The last coal mine in the Lucas area was the Iowa-Nebraska Mine, closed in 1923. This mine was located about 1.5 miles southwest of Lucas (41°0′50.65″N 93°28′50.03″W / 41.0140694°N 93.4805639°W).[10] The former mine site is now in the Lucas Unit of the Stephens State Forest.[11] The site is now the site of Mine Pond and the Mine Pond Campground in the state forest.[12] This forest was a base of operations for the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. The CCC established the pine and hardwood forest that now dominates this land.[13]
Geography
Lucas is located at 41°1′47″N 93°27′42″W / 41.02972°N 93.46167°WInvalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (41.029843, -93.461595)Template:GR on the north bank of White Breast Creek, a tributary of the Des Moines River that flows east through the Southern Iowa drift plain.[14]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.0 square miles (2.5 km²), of which, 1.0 square miles (2.5 km²) of it is land and 1.03% is water.
Demographics
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 981 | — |
| 1890 | 1,320 | +34.6% |
| 1900 | 1,132 | −14.2% |
| 1910 | 666 | −41.2% |
| 1920 | 614 | −7.8% |
| 1930 | 514 | −16.3% |
| 1940 | 534 | +3.9% |
| 1950 | 420 | −21.3% |
| 1960 | 357 | −15.0% |
| 1970 | 247 | −30.8% |
| 1980 | 292 | +18.2% |
| 1990 | 224 | −23.3% |
| 2000 | 243 | +8.5% |
| Iowa Data Center | ||
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 243 people, 95 households, and 68 families residing in the city. The population density was 251.4 people per square mile (96.7/km²). There were 101 housing units at an average density of 104.5/sq mi (40.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.77% White, 0.82% Asian, and 0.41% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.82% of the population.
There were 95 households out of which 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.0% were married couples living together, 3.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.4% were non-families. 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.07.
In the city the population was spread out with 28.4% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,250, and the median income for a family was $38,750. Males had a median income of $26,458 versus $21,607 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,145. About 6.9% of families and 10.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.4% of those under the age of eighteen and none of those sixty five or over.
Notable natives
- George Bennard, composer of "The Old Rugged Cross"
References
- ^ Tom Savage, A Dictionary of Iowa Place Names, University of Iowa Press, 2007; page 138.]
- ^ History of Lucas County, Iowa, State Historical Co., Des Moines, 1881; page 608.
- ^ [http://books.google.com/books?id=nH0UAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA609&pg=PA611, pages 611-614.
- ^ 1930's Aerial Photos taken by the USDA on the Iowa Geographic Map Server.
- ^ Sixth Biennial Report of the State Mine Inspectors to the Governor of the State of Iowa for the two years ending June 30, 1893, Ragsdale, Des Moines, 1893.
- ^ Eleventh Biennial Report of the State Mine Inspectors to the Governor of the State of Iowa for the Two Years Ending June 30, 1903, Murphy, Des Moines, 1903, page 35.
- ^ Twelfth Biennial Report of the State Mine Inspectors for the Two Years Ending June 30, 1905 to the Governor of the State of Iowa, Brevard, Des Moines, 190X, page 44
- ^ Henry Hinds, Coal Deposits of Iowa, Annual Report, 1908, Iowa Geological Survey, 1909, pages 220-222.
- ^ H. E. Pride, Iowa Coal, Bulletin No. 48, Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts Engineering Extension Department, Oct. 6, 1920.
- ^ 1930's Aerial Photos taken by the USDA on the Iowa Geographic Map Server.
- ^ The Birth of Lucas Iowa, web page from the John L. Lewis Museum, Lucas, Iowa.
- ^ Map of Lucas, Whitebreast and Woodburn Units, of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Forestry Bureau 2008.
- ^ Stephens State Forest web page of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources
- ^ Stephens State Forest web page of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources
External links
Municipalities and communities of Lucas County, Iowa, United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Townships | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||