Editing Ottumwa, Iowa (section)

==History==
[[Image:OttumwaMines.png|thumb|Map of Ottumwa from 1908, showing the railroads and coal mines (red) of the region]]
[[File:East 300 block of Main Street, (1900), Ottumwa, Iowa, United States..jpg|alt=Main Street, Ottumwa, Iowa|thumb|East 300 block of Main Street, 1900]]

The city's name derives from the Native American [[Meskwaki]] language, translating to "tumbling waters" in reference to the Appanoose Rapids on the Des Moines River.<ref name=WCHS>{{cite web|url=https://wapellocounty.org/resident-information/wapello-county-history|title="Wapello County History Society"|access-date=January 30, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.beforetime.net/iowagenealogy/wapello/WapelloHistory/WapelloCountyHistory.html|title="Wapello County History"|access-date=January 30, 2021}}</ref>

In May 1843, several investors formed the Appanoose Rapids Company and staked claim to 467 acres of land in the present site of Ottumwa. Their [[colonization]] involved claiming land supporting three [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous]] settlements. The first official cabin was built in May 1843 after the area was opened to settlement (an earlier cabin built in defiance of this date was destroyed by Army troops at that time). The original platt was titled Louis Ville.<ref name=Britannica>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Ottumwa |title=Ottumwa, Iowa|quote=Originally called Appanoose Rapids, the name was changed to Louisville and Ottumwanoc before being shortened to Ottumwa. Ottumwa is said to be derived from an Algonquian (Fox) word meaning “rippling waters,” although it may simply mean “town.”|publisher=Britannica|access-date=December 26, 2020}}</ref> In 1844 the city was named as the county seat.<ref name=COHC/>

The town was severely damaged during the [[flood of 1851]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Aldrich|first=Charles|title=The Annals Of Iowa|publisher=Historical Department of Iowa|year = 1903|location=Des Moines, Iowa|page=411|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mrcTAAAAYAA}}</ref>

In 1857, coal was being mined from the McCready bank, a site along Bear Creek four miles west of Ottumwa. In 1868, Brown and Godfrey opened a [[drift mining|drift mine]] four miles northwest of town. By 1872, Brown and Godfrey employed 300 men and had an annual production of 77,000&nbsp;tons. In 1880, the Phillips Coal and Mining Company opened a [[coal mine|mine]] two miles northwest of town. In subsequent years, they opened 5 more [[shaft mining|shafts]] in the Phillips and Rutledge neighborhoods, just north of Ottumwa.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lees|first=James H.|title=History of Coal Mining in Iowa|publisher=Iowa Geological Survey|year=1909|location=Des Moines|page=541|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1BUMAAAAYAAJ}}</ref> The Phillips number 5 shaft was {{convert|140|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} deep, with a 375-HP steam [[hoist (mining)|hoist]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hinds|first=Henry|title=The Coal Deposits of Iowa|publisher=Iowa Geological Survey|year=1909|location=Des Moines|page=298|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1BUMAAAAYAAJ}}</ref> By 1889, the state mine inspector's report listed 15 mine shafts in Ottumwa.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Fourth Biennial Report Of The State Mine Inspectors To The Governor Of The State Of Iowa For The Years 1888 And 1889|year=1889|location=Des Moines|page=33|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PRAAAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> In 1914, the Phillips Fuel Company produced over 100,000&nbsp;tons of coal, ranking among the top 24 coal producers in the state.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Saward|first=Frederick E.|title=The Coal Trade|year=1915|page=65|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NO8oAAAAYAAJ}}</ref> Coal mining was so important to the local economy that, from 1890 to 1892, the [[Coal Palace]] was erected in Ottumwa as an [[exhibition center]].

[[John Morrell & Company]] and their meat packing comples played a significant role in the development of Ottumwa from 1877 to 1973.<ref>{{cite web|title=John Morrell & Company Meat Packing Plant, 316 South Iowa Street, Ottumwa, Wapello County, IA|url=https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ia0206/|website=Loc.gov}}</ref>

When the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad arrived in Ottumwa in September 1859, it ran parallel to the river channel. The availability of rail transportation encouraged both commercial and industrial expansion along the northwest to southeast axis. Access to the south bank of the river at first was by ferry from the foot of Green Street. By 1875 this ferry had been replaced by a bridge, and a number of additions had been made to the city during the first thirty years, all located on the north side of the Des Moines River. As development (almost exclusively residential) climbed the bluffs, the streets on top of the hills were laid out to compass points, rather than parallel to the river. Although there was some development on the south side of the river, '''South Ottumwa''' was not brought into the city limits until the 1880s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/pdfs/16000365.pdf|title=Greater Second Street Historic District, Ottumwa, Iowa|date=April 2016|page=14|access-date=December 26, 2020}}</ref>

===Presidential visits===
Visits by a sitting U.S. president include:
* [[Benjamin Harrison]] in 1890; toured the Coal Palace and spoke to a crowd of over 40,000.<ref name="fsphvo">{{cite web|last=Toopes|first=Cindy|url=http://ottumwacourier.com/local/x1687721558/Four-sitting-presidents-have-visited-Ottumwa|title=Four sitting presidents have visited Ottumwa|publisher=Ottumwa Courier|date=April 23, 2010|access-date=December 19, 2010}}</ref>
* [[Theodore Roosevelt]] in 1903; made a brief train stop while travelling the United States.<ref name="fsphvo"/>
* [[Harry Truman]] in 1950; while on a 16-state train trip in support of his [[Fair Deal]].<ref name="fsphvo"/>
* [[Richard Nixon]] in 1971; arrived in [[Air Force One]] at the Ottumwa Industrial Airport to dedicate the nearby [[Rathbun Lake]] dam and reservoir.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nwk.usace.army.mil/ra/History.cfm |title=Rathbun Lake |work=US Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District |access-date=December 18, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100920021053/http://www.nwk.usace.army.mil/ra/History.cfm |archive-date=September 20, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Nixon had been stationed at the Ottumwa airport while serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II.<ref name="bormn">{{cite web|url=http://nixon.archives.gov/thelife/nixonbio.pdf|title=Biography of Richard Milhous Nixon|publisher=Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum|page=1|access-date=December 19, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150921204555/http://nixon.archives.gov/thelife/nixonbio.pdf|archive-date=September 21, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Barack Obama]] in 2010; spoke at [[Indian Hills Community College]].<ref name="pcrov">{{cite web|last=Shaver|first=Pat|url=http://ottumwacourier.com/local/x1901489014/Participants-crowd-relish-Obama-visit|title=Participants, crowd relish Obama visit|publisher=Ottumwa Courier|date=April 28, 2010|access-date=December 19, 2010}}</ref>