Early history

Jasper County Courthouse.

Newton was founded in 1846 as Newton City, then shortened to Newton in 1847 and incorporated as a city in 1857. It was named to pair with Jasper County, following a common American naming scheme at the time in honor of Revolutionary War soldiers John Newton and William Jasper.^[5] In the late 19th century, Newton's growth was fueled by the development of coal mines in the region. The first significant mine in the area was the Couch mine of the Jasper County Coal and Railway Company, opened in the 1870s. For a while, it was the largest mine in the county, producing 70 tons per day. William Snooks opened a mine near Newton in 1886.^[6] In the early 20th century, large scale mining in the Newton area had declined, but there were still several mines in the area that were worked intermittently.^[7]

Maytag and the era of growth

In the 20th century, Newton was a manufacturing community, much of its growth derived from the washing machine industry. Its most distinctive landmark, the Jasper County Courthouse, was built in 1911.

Newton entered the national stage in 1938 when martial law was declared during a strike at the Maytag Washing Machine Company. Iowa governor Nelson Kraschel ordered the Iowa National Guard to protect the company with tanks and machine guns ready against the workers. With the backing of four troops (companies) of the 113th Cavalry Regiment,^[8] Maytag company beat the strike and forced workers to return to work with a 10% pay cut.

At the conclusion of World War II, the Maytag Washing Machine Company expanded its operations in Newton, becoming the Maytag Corporation. Known for its dependable line of washing machines and clothes dryers, the company later persuaded the town of Newton to change the name of its headquarters address in the city to "One Dependability Square."^[9] In 2001, a decision to cut labor costs resulted in a reduction of the labor force at the Newton plant in favor of newer Maytag facilities in Mexico.^[10] Layoffs at the Newton plant continued through 2005. Whirlpool's acquisition of Maytag in early 2006 led to speculation over the future of Maytag operations in Newton. On May 10, 2006, Whirlpool announced that it would close the Newton plant and corporate offices in the fall of 2007. The plant employed about 1,000 workers and the corporate offices employed about 800 at the time of the announcement.

In January 2007, Whirlpool said in a statement that it sold most of the Maytag headquarters complex to Iowa Telecommunications Services Inc., a Newton-based telephone company which would use the complex to consolidate employees in a single location.

Former headquarters of the Maytag Corporation, sold to Newton Enterprises in April 2012

Although the company did not disclose financial details, Newton economic development officials said Iowa Telecom paid $1.5 million for the buildings assessed at more than $12 million.^[11] The Maytag plant officially ended production on October 25, 2007.^[12]

"Newton's future" and the rebound after Maytag

After Maytag announced its departure, community leaders and City administration worked together to develop a plan to diversify Newton's economy.^[13] After the Maytag plant closed, unemployment skyrocketed—rising to almost 10%. In 2010, Jasper County had the highest unemployment rate of Iowa's 99 counties at 8.2%. However, in the following years, the unemployment rate dropped considerably—down to 5.4% in 2013.^[14] More impressively, Newton's population did not drop following the departure of Maytag. Newton has had a steady population of about 15,000 since the 1960s.

Between 2007 and 2017, the following companies started in or moved to Newton: Underwriter's Laboratory, Trinity Structural Towers, TPI Composites, Aueron, Walter G. Anderson, the Iowa Speedway, Health Enterprises, Engineered Plastics Company, Pact Manufacturing, Advanced Wheel Sales, and Hawkeye Stages.^[15][16]

Legacy Plaza, the former Maytag corporate campus, contains eight buildings dating back to the early 1900s. The site was donated to Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) by Reza Kargarzadeh in 2016. Some of the space is leased; current tenants include Compass Mortgage, DMACC Business Resources, Thombert, Aureon, Gezellig Brewing Company, Murph & Mary's Pub, CIRAS, Iowa Lean Consortium, Aerocare, MCG and Edward Jones.^[17]

Visual arts and sculpture

"International Harvester AKA Harvey" a public art sculpture in Maytag Park, Newton, Iowa.

Newton has an active arts community, with several non-profit organizations dedicated to the arts and many artists residing in the city.

The Iowa Sculpture Festival was an annual event hosted in Newton which began in 2002.^[24] The purpose and goal of the Iowa Sculpture Festival is to celebrate the development and growth of sculpture as an art form and to feature artists who create sculptures. The weekend-long event featured both local and internationally accomplished artists. The annual event ended in 2017.^[24]

Newton features more than 100 displays of public art with sculptures and painted murals throughout the community.^[15] The Iowa Sculpture Festival Committee sponsors a self-guided year-round sculpture and mural tour.^[25]

The Centre for Arts and Artists opened in Newton in 2005.^[26] The Centre for Arts and Artists is composed of 10 resident artist studios, a clay and kiln room, a therapeutic art room for children, a classroom, an extensive art and sculpture collection as well as a gift shop.^[26] Classes for all ages are taught at the Centre throughout the year.^[26]

Performing arts

In addition to having an active visual arts community, Newton also has an active music and theater community. Each summer, Newton hosts the Bowlful of Blues, a blues festival at the Maytag Bowl featuring renowned blues artists from across the county such as John Primer, Walter Trout, Shaun Murphy, Willie Kent, and others.^[27]

Additionally, the City of Newton puts on free weekly concerts at the Maytag Bowl throughout the summer in an event called "Concerts at the Bowl."^[28] This event features local bands of all genres. The Newton City Band, a full concert band composed of Newton citizens, also performs at this event.^[28]

The Newton Community Theater performs several shows each year ranging from large-cast musicals, such as Les Misérables, to small cast ensemble plays, such as The Dixie Swim Club.^[29]

Historic preservation

An aerial image of downtown Newton.

In February 2014, Newton was selected to take part in the Main Street Iowa program, which is a coordinating program for the Main Street America program and part of the Iowa Economic Development Authority. Newton Main Street is a 501(c)3 organization with a goal of economic development within the context of historic preservation. In September 2014, Newton's downtown was designated to the National Register of Historic Places.^[30] The district has 87 properties within it.

The Fred Maytag Park Historic District, which includes Maytag Bowl, Maytag Park and Maytag Pool, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in November 2010.

Newton has several other places listed on the National Register of Historic Places including the Thomas Arthur House, August H. Bergman House, Emerson Hough Elementary School, the Jasper County Courthouse, and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church.

The Jasper County Historical Museum is located on the southwest est side of Newton and features historical artifacts from throughout Newton's history, including many early-model washing machines manufactured by Maytag.^[13] The museum is managed by the Jasper County Historical Society.

Other arts and culture

Newton began hosting Newton Fest in 2015. The annual celebration is meant to celebrate the arts, food, music, history and more.^[31]

Newton also hosts the Miss Iowa USA and Miss Teen Iowa USA Pageants annually.^[32] The winners of these competitions go on to represent Iowa at the Miss USA Pageants.

Newton is home to one of America's first business aircraft. The aircraft was a Travel Air 6000 owned by Harry Ogg, owner of the Automatic Washing Machine Company and was named "Smiling Thru".^[33]

Death of Rocky Marciano

On August 31, 1969, world boxing champion Rocky Marciano and two other occupants died when their airplane crashed in Newton.^[42] This was the third of a series of airplane accidents or incidents in Iowa involving celebrities, after a 1959 accident in Clear Lake and a 1960 incident in Carroll that involved a plane carrying the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team.

Streets and addresses

Newton is divided into four quadrants: 1st Avenue divides the north and south segments of Newton, and 1st Street divides the east and west segments. Roads labeled as avenues run east and west, while roads labeled as streets run north and south. Newton's street numbering system also extends into rural Jasper County.

A typical street name would appear "E 5th St S". The east or west label comes first, followed by the street, then followed by the north or south label. This example indicates the street is in the southeast quadrant of Newton.

A typical avenue name would appear "N 5th Ave W". In the case of avenues, the north or south label comes first, followed by the avenue, and then followed by the east or west label. This example indicates the avenue is in the northwest quadrant of Newton.^[45]

All addresses within Newton fall within the 50208 ZIP Code.

2010 census

As of the census^[49] of 2010, there were 15,254 people, 6,668 households, and 4,047 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,363.2 inhabitants per square mile (526.3/km²). There were 7,339 housing units at an average density of 655.9 per square mile (253.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.7% White, 0.7% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.7% of the population.

There were 6,668 households, of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.3% were non-families. 34.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.85.

The median age in the city was 41.6 years. 22.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.8% were from 25 to 44; 26.4% were from 45 to 64; and 19.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.8% male and 52.2% female.

2000 census

As of the census^[50] of 2000, there were 15,579 people, 6,713 households, and 4,269 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,518.9 inhabitants per square mile (586.5/km²). There were 7,162 housing units at an average density of 698.3 per square mile (269.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.55% White, 0.60% Asian, 0.39% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 0.33% from other races, and 0.80% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.21% of the population.

There were 6,713 households, out of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.4% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.4% were non-families. 32.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.84.

Age spread: 23.6% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $40,345, and the median income for a family was $49,977. Males had a median income of $37,248 versus $22,631 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,552. About 4.8% of families and 6.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.0% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.