Editing Oelwein, Iowa (section)

== History ==
The town of Oelwein was laid out in a corn field purchased from pioneer settler [[Gustav Oelwein]] on the coming of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Minnesota Railroad (later called the [[Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad|Rock Island]]) in 1872. Some years later the two dividing streets of Oelwein were named after his sons, Frederick and Charles.

Oelwein's present site was entered in 1852 by J. B. Burch.  The hamlet of Oelwein was instituted  in 1873, and was incorporated as a town in 1888, with Dr. Israel Pattison  becoming its first mayor. The town suffered its chief setback in 1887, when nearly all of the old Main Street business district (now First Avenue SE) was destroyed by fire. In 1890 the census gave the population as 830.

[[File:Chicago Great Western Shop Oelwein Iowa.JPG|thumb|left|CGW locomotive shop in the early 1900s]]
By January 1892, Oelwein was chosen to become the center of the [[Chicago Great Western Railway]]; the CGW made the town the site of their locomotive and car repair shop, where four lines converge.<ref name="EB1911">{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Oelwein|volume=20|page=14}}</ref> Clearing the land for the shops began in June 1894. The shops were completed and put into operation in May 1899. Thus, Oelwein became known as the "Shop City" and later the "Hub City" because of the rail lines coming into town and the repair shops located here.

By 1895 the population had increased to 1,928, and in 1897 Oelwein was incorporated as a city. In 1900, Oelwein had 5,142 people within the city limits, of whom 789 were foreign-born.<ref name="EB1911"/> Oelwein was one of few Iowa towns to experience an influx of [[Italian-American|Italian]] immigrants who were employed in the railroad industry. In 1910, the population was 6,028, and in 1940, 7,801.

In 1968, the town suffered another setback when [[1968 Oelwein tornado|a large tornado]] swept through the main business district. 68 homes were destroyed, including some in F5 damage, 132 sustained major damage and 600 sustained less damage. Every business in the district suffered damage including 51 that were destroyed. Two churches, an elementary school, and the middle school were destroyed. Extensive damage was also done in nearby [[Maynard, Iowa|Maynard]]. Along the path, 5 people died (one in Oelwein), 156 were injured, and $21 million worth of ($18 million in Oelwein) damage was done, inflated to $130.4 million today.

Oelwein remained a "railroad town" until the early 1980s when most of the railroad tracks to the East, North and then West directions were abandoned. [[Transco Railway Products]] exists in Oelwein today. That business employs about 190 people repairing railroad cars. Transco employees donated their time to refurbish a Chicago Great Western EMD FP7 diesel locomotive that is displayed near the Hub City Heritage Museum, 26 2nd Avenue SW, the museum of railroad memorabilia.

===''Methland'' controversy===
{{main|Methland}}

The 2009 book ''[[Methland|Methland: The Death and Life of an American Small Town]]'' by Nick Reding (Bloomsbury Press) documents the drug culture and how it ties into larger issues of [[rural flight]] and small town economic decline placed in the historic context of the drug trade. While Reding's book received positive reviews from the ''[[New York Times]]'' Sunday Book Review<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kirn |first=Walter |date=2009-07-01 |title=Wasted Land |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/05/books/review/Kirn-t.html |access-date=2023-02-09 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and ''[[Washington Post]]'s'' Book World,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Liss |first=David |date=2009-06-14 |title=Book Review: 'Methland' by Nick Reding |language=en-US |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/12/AR2009061201403.html |access-date=2023-02-09 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> it was severely criticised by [[Cedar Rapids, Iowa|Cedar Rapids]] columnist Laura Behrens, who wrote, "it is so ridden with errors of basic reporting that the credibility of its larger premises is crippled," pointing out several factual errors.<ref>Laura Behrens, Holes in ‘Methland’ unforgivable. p. 4A, ''Cedar Rapids Gazette'' July 24, 2009</ref>