Editing Boone, Iowa (section)

==History==
[[Image:BooneMines.png|thumb|left|Map of the Boone area from 1908, showing the railroads and coal mines (shown in red) of the region.]]
Coal mining played an important part in the early history of the Boone area. Local blacksmiths were already mining coal from the banks of Honey Creek south of what became Boone in 1849.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About - County History - Boone County Government - Iowa |url=https://www.boonecounty.iowa.gov/about/ |access-date=2023-10-25 |website=www.boonecounty.iowa.gov |language=en}}</ref>

Boone was [[plat]]ted as a town in 1865 by [[John Insley Blair]]. It was incorporated the following year, when the [[Chicago and North Western Transportation Company]] railroad station was built there. The town was originally named "Montana";<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history-map.com/picture/003/Montana-Iowa.htm|title=Bird's eye view of the city of Montana, Boone Co., Iowa 1868|work=historymap.com|access-date=November 25, 2012}}</ref> it was renamed to Boone in 1871.<ref name = "boonecounty" /> The nearby town of Boonesboro was also chartered in 1866; Boonesboro was annexed to Boone in 1887.<ref name = "boonecounty">{{cite web|url=http://www.boonecounty.iowa.gov/index.aspx?page=282|title=County History|work=Boone County, Iowa|access-date=November 25, 2012}}</ref> The present name is a tribute to [[Nathan Boone]], son of explorer [[Daniel Boone]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Savage|first=Tom|title=A Dictionary of Iowa Place-Names|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DxagLIZHNv4C&pg=PA41|date=August 2007|publisher=University of Iowa Press|isbn=978-1-58729-759-5|page=41}}</ref>

Commercial mining was spurred by the arrival of the railroad. In 1867, Canfield and Taylor opened a mine just west of town. Their [[shaft mining|mine shaft]] was 242 feet deep, and they hauled coal to the railroad by wagon. In 1874, a [[spur line|railroad spur]] was built to the mine. This mine was taken over by the railroad, and operated for 30 years.
There were [[coal seam]]s in the Boone area; the upper vein, about 3 feet thick, was always worked using [[longwall mining]], while the lower vein was always mined using [[room and pillar]] mining.<ref>James H. Lees, History of Coal Mining in Iowa, Chapter III of [https://books.google.com/books?id=1BUMAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA484&pg=PA575 Annual Report, 1908], Iowa Geological Survey, 1909, pages 575–579.</ref> In 1912, [[United Mine Workers]] Local 869 in Boone had 554 members, close to 10% of the population at the time.<ref>Tally Sheet, [https://books.google.com/books?id=cfAUAAAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA1007 Proceedings of the 23rd Annual Convention of the United Mine Workers of America] Jan. 16 – Feb. 2, 1912, Indianapolis; Volume 2, page 182A.</ref>

The grocery chain [[Fareway]] originated in Boone. The company maintains their business offices in town also.<ref>{{cite web|title=History - Reflecting on 75 Years|url=https://www.fareway.com/about/history|website=Fareway|publisher=Fareway|access-date=4 February 2018}}</ref>

[[File:First Casey's store in Boone, IA.jpg|thumb|Original Casey's store in Boone, IA as it looked in March 2022]]The first [[Casey's General Stores|Casey's General Store]] was founded in Boone, Iowa in 1968.<ref>{{cite web|title=Community Pride, Hometown Heart|url=https://www.caseys.com/about-us|website=Casey's General Store|publisher=Casey's General Store|access-date=4 February 2018}}</ref>

Other larger businesses that have had or still maintain facilities in Boone include Gates Rubber, Heinrich Envelope, Archway Bakery, Lowe-Berry Seeds, Coca-Cola Bottling, Quinn Iron & Wire Works (now Besser Quinn Machine & Foundry), Mid-States Steel, Sunoco Products, Specialty Leather Productions, Randy's Frozen Meats, PDM Distribution, ProLiant Biologicals, APC, Thermomass Composite Tech, CDS Global, Patterson Logistics and Stoll Bottling.<ref>{{cite web |title=Manufacturing |url=http://booneiowa.chambermaster.com/list/category/manufacturing-87 |website=Boone County Iowa |publisher=Boone Co. Chamber of Commerce - IA |access-date=26 July 2018}}</ref>