Garden Grove, Iowa: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 15:11, 11 March 2025

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Garden Grove is a small town in Decatur County, Iowa, United States. The population was 174 at the time of the 2020 census.<ref name=cen2020>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

On April 24, 1846,<ref>Leland H. Gentry, "The Mormon Way Stations: Garden Grove and Mt. Pisgah," BYU Studies, 24:4 (Fall 1981), 448.</ref> emigrants affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints under the direction of Brigham Young established a way station halfway into their trek across Iowa. This semi-permanent settlement was named Garden Grove because the entire grove was covered with wild onions as far as the eye could see.<ref>Nelson Wheeler Whipple, "Diaries, 1863-1887," p. 20, MSS SC 38, Harold B. Lee Library Special Collections, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.</ref> Within three weeks of their arrival, the pioneers enclosed and planted Template:Convert.<ref>Stanley Buchholz Kimball, Heber C. Kimball: Mormon Patriarch and Pioneer (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1981), 135.</ref> They founded the village to assist those who did not have sufficient means to continue their journey, as well as to support and supply future companies of pioneers.<ref>Gentry, "The Mormon Way Stations," 449.</ref>

When Brigham Young and the main company left Garden Grove on May 12, 1846,<ref>William G. Hartley, "Mormons and Early Iowa History (1838 to 1858): Eight Distinct Connections," The Annals of Iowa 59:3 (Summer 2000), 236.</ref> the poorest and least prepared were left behind. After the Saints arrived in Winter Quarters, Captain James Allen brought orders from President James Polk to enlist a battalion of Mormons for the War with Mexico.<ref>Richard E. Bennett, Mormons at the Missouri: Winter Quarters, 1846-1852 (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1987), 51.</ref> Brigham Young and other leaders rode back as far as Mt. Pisgah to encourage the men to enlist, and a letter was sent to the Saints in Garden Grove.<ref>B. H. Roberts, The Mormon Battalion: Its History and Achievements (Provo, Utah: Maasai, 2001), 17.</ref> Only one man from the Garden Grove settlement, Edward Bunker, enlisted and served in the Mormon Battalion.<ref>Edward Bunker, Autobiography of Edward Bunker (Provo: Brigham Young University, 1938), 7.</ref>

In the fall of 1846, when the last of the Mormons were driven out of Nauvoo, Illinois, the exiles camped on the west shore of the Mississippi River. Two rescue parties were sent from Winter Quarters and Council Bluffs,<ref>Bennett, Mormons at the Missouri, 84.</ref> and an additional group was requested from Garden Grove. Luman Shurtliff led the third rescue party and brought the poorest of the exiles to the settlement at Garden Grove.<ref>Luman Andros Shurtliff, "Journal of Luman Andros Shurtliff," pp. 64-66, 289.3701S562j, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah.</ref>

Through the winter of 1846/47, about 600 Latter-day Saints resided in Garden Grove.<ref>Bennett, Mormons at the Missouri, 90.</ref> By 1852, the Mormon settlers had moved on to Utah, selling the property and improvements to other American frontiersmen. Garden Grove is a site on the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail. A marker just west of the city, overlooking a wooded ravine, marks the site of the former Mormon Cemetery.

Garden Grove was a shipping point on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

A strong EF2 tornado struck the town on March 5, 2022, causing major damage to several structures.<ref>Template:Cite report Template:Cite report Template:Cite report</ref>

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of Template:Convert, all land.<ref name="Gazetteer files">Template:Cite web</ref>

Demographics

Template:Historical populations

The population of Garden Grove, Iowa from US census data

2020 census

As of the census of 2020,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> there were 174 people, 80 households, and 46 families residing in the city. The population density was 257.4 inhabitants per square mile (99.4/km²). There were 91 housing units at an average density of 134.6 per square mile (52.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.7% White, 0.6% Black or African American, 0.0% Native American, 0.0% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 0.6% from other races and 1.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino persons of any race comprised 0.6% of the population.

Of the 80 households, 31.2% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.2% were married couples living together, 8.8% were cohabitating couples, 17.5% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present and 32.5% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. 42.5% of all households were non-families. 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals, 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years old or older.

The median age in the city was 40.5 years. 25.3% of the residents were under the age of 20; 5.2% were between the ages of 20 and 24; 23.0% were from 25 and 44; 27.6% were from 45 and 64; and 19.0% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 52.9% male and 47.1% female.

2010 census

At the 2010 census there were 211 people in 78 households, including 49 families, in the city. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 103 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makup of the city was 97.6% White, 0.9% African American, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.9%.<ref name ="wwwcensusgov">Template:Cite web</ref>

Of the 78 households 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.9% were married couples living together, 17.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 9.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.2% were non-families. 26.9% of households were one person and 6.4% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 2.96.

The median age was 38.1 years. 27% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.4% were from 25 to 44; 29.9% were from 45 to 64; and 8.1% were 65 or older. The gender makeup of the city was 51.7% male and 48.3% female.

2000 census

As of the census<ref name="GR2">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, there were 250 people in 96 households, including 64 families, in the city. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 113 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makup of the city was 99.60% White and 0.40% Native American.

Of the 96 households 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.3% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% were non-families. 28.1% of households were one person and 11.5% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.26.

The age distribution was 29.2% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 115.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.4 males.

The median household income was $19,844 and the median family income was $29,464. Males had a median income of $21,875 versus $18,125 for females. The per capita income for the city was $10,301. About 28.3% of families and 35.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 43.3% of those under the age of eighteen and 28.2% of those sixty five or over.