California Junction, Iowa
Census-designated place
Location of Iowa in the United States
Location of Iowa in the United States
California Junction is located in Iowa
California Junction
California Junction
California Junction is located in the United States
California Junction
California Junction
Coordinates: 41°33′37″N 95°59′41″W / 41.56028°N 95.99472°W / 41.56028; -95.99472
Country United States
State Iowa
CountyHarrison
TownshipCincinnati
FoundedSeptember 9, 1880
Founded byMissouri Valley Land Company
Area
[1]
 • Total0.46 sq mi (1.19 km2)
 • Land0.46 sq mi (1.19 km2)
 • Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
[2]
1,007 ft (307 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total74
 • Density160.52/sq mi (62.04/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
51555
Area code712
FIPS code19-09910
GNIS feature ID2583481[2]

California Junction is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Harrison County, Iowa, United States. It lies just east of the junction between the east–west and north–south lines of the former Sioux City and Pacific Railroad. In the 2010 census[3] it had a population of 85 inhabitants and a population density of 184.38 people per square mile (71.19 people/km2).

Geography

California Junction is located near the southwest corner of Harrison County. The community is 1 mile (1.6 km) northeast of the Iowa–Nebraska border, which in this area follows the center of De Soto Lake, an abandoned channel of the Missouri River. U.S. Route 30 passes just south of California Junction, leading east 4 miles (6 km) to Interstate 29 on the outskirts of Missouri Valley and west 7 miles (11 km) to Blair, Nebraska.

According to the United States Census Bureau, California Junction has a total area of 0.461 square miles (1.19 km2), all of it land.[4]

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
202074—
U.S. Decennial Census[5]

As of the 2010 census,[3] there were 85 people, 32 households, and 26 families residing in the town. The population density was 184.38 inhabitants per square mile (71.19/km2). There were 34 housing units at an average density of 73.75 per square mile (28.48/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 98.82% White and 1.18% from two or more races. Of the total population, 4.7% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

History

The town of California Junction traces its origins to the Yazoo post office and the ill-fated towns of Cincinnati and Parrish City, which were founded in Cincinnati township during the later half of the 1850s.[6] Yazoo Landing was a ferry crossing on the Missouri River where the Blair Bridge now stands.[7] The present settlement was established in 1880, after the Sioux City and Pacific Railroad was built. John I. Blair, the railroad tycoon, believed that this would be an important hub for passengers heading west, and gave the town its current name.[8][9] In 1883, the name of the town was changed to "California" to avoid confusion with Columbia Junction; it retained this name as of 1915.[6]

In 1879, California Junction had a population of 200 people;[10] the population was 76 in 1902.[11] In 1903, the California Grain and Lumber Company was organized in California Junction.[12] By 1915, there was also a town hall, high school, general store, blacksmith shop, post office, two churches, and a train station.[6][12]

On January 1, 1922, a 1460-foot deep well was drilled at the nearby oil prospect of Hugh R. Coulthard,[13][14] a prominent landowner, businessman, and farmer from California Junction.[12] No oil was obtained from the site, but the capped well leaks water to this day. A marshy area surrounding the well remains as a local landmark, which is visible about 160 yards north of town on Fremont Ave., about 30 yards west of the roadway.[15]

In 1925, California Junction's population was 84.[16] The population was 100 in 1940.[17]

A grain elevator is still operated at California Junction by the United Western Coop.[18]

Education

The community of California Junction and the surrounding rural area educational needs are met by the Missouri Valley Community School District.

Notable people


References

  1. ↑ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  2. 1 2 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: California Junction, Iowa
  3. 1 2 "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  4. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 Charles Walter Hunt (1915), History of Harrison County, Iowa, Indianapolis: B. F. Bowen, pp. 394–399, OL 23703613M
  7. ↑ Morton, J.S.; Watkins, A.; Miller, G. L. (1913). Illustrated History of Nebraska: A History of Nebraska from the Earliest Explorations of the Trans-Mississippi Region, with Steel Engravings, Photogravures, Copper Plates, Maps, and Tables. J. North. p. 446.
  8. ↑ Chicago and North Western Railway Company (1908). A History of the Origin of the Place Names Connected with the Chicago & North Western and Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railways. p. 50.
  9. ↑ Savage, Tom (2007). A dictionary of Iowa place-names. A Bur Oak guide. University of Iowa Press. p. 46. ISBN 978-1-58729-531-7.
  10. ↑ The North and West illustrated for Tourist, Business, and Pleasure Travel, Chicago, Ill: Chicago & North-Western Railway Co., 1879, p. 24, OCLC 23054179, OL 7205679M
  11. ↑ Cram's Modern Atlas: The New Unrivaled New Census Edition. J. R. Gray & Company. 1902. pp. 203–207.
  12. 1 2 3 "1915 Harrison County Iowa Biographies". 2010. Archived from the original on June 14, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2011.
  13. ↑ Norton, WH (1928). "Deep Wells of Iowa": 130. Archived from the original on October 6, 2011. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  14. ↑ "Iowa Geological Survey, Site Record Wnumber 40". Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved January 16, 2011.
  15. ↑ Location of H. R. Coulthard Oil Prospect
  16. ↑ Company, Rand McNally and (1925). Premier Atlas of the World: Containing Maps of All Countries of the World, with the Most Recent Boundary Decisions, and Maps of All the States,territories, and Possessions of the United States with Population Figures from the Latest Official Census Reports, Also Data of Interest Concerning International and Domestic Political Questions. Rand McNally & Company. p. 190.
  17. ↑ The Attorneys List. United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company, Attorney List Department. 1940. p. 295.
  18. ↑ United Western Co-op, California Junction
  19. ↑ "O'CONNOR, James Francis". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 16, 2011.
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