Mason City is a city and the county seat of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States.[2] The population was 27,338 in the 2020 census.[3] Mason City is known for its musical heritage, high concentrations of renowned Prairie School style architecture, and a close connection with nearby Clear Lake.
The region around what would later be first called Shibboleth was a summer home to the Sioux and Winnebago nations. The first settlement that became Shibboleth was established in 1853 at the confluence of the Winnebago River and Calmus Creek.[4] The town had several freemasonic influenced names: Shibboleth, Masonic Grove, and Masonville until Mason City was adopted in 1855, in honor of a founder's son, Mason Long.[5]
Ebeling Meat Market, Main Street, 1914
In 1854, John McMillin opened the first store, and Dr. Silas Card opened the first medical practice in the area. Lizzie Thompson established the first schoolhouse in a log cabin in 1856. The United States Post Office Department started service to the town in 1857. Mason City was named the county seat in 1858.[6] In 1870, Mason City, Iowa was officially incorporated as a town with Darius B. Mason as the first mayor.[7]
Post card from 1910 of Mason City Hide and Fur Company of Mason City Iowa
Musical heritage
The city's "favorite son," Meredith Willson, grew up in Mason City and played in the Mason City Symphonic Band as a high school student. Willson's crowning achievement was the famous stage musical The Music Man. Many of the characters in it were based on people Willson knew from his childhood in Mason City.[8] Mason City also features the Parker's Opera House.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 28.10 square miles (72.78 km2), of which 27.81 square miles (72.03 km2) is land and 0.29 square miles (0.75 km2) is water.[9][10]
As of the census of 2020,[14] there were 27,338 people, 12,271 households, and 6,838 families residing in the city. The population density was 981.4 inhabitants per square mile (378.9/km2). There were 13,584 housing units at an average density of 487.7 per square mile (188.3/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 87.0% White, 2.9% Black or African American, 0.5% Native American, 1.5% Asian, 0.5% Pacific Islander, 1.9% from other races and 5.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race comprised 6.7% of the population.
Of the 12,271 households, 23.3% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.1% were married couples living together, 8.0% were cohabitating couples, 30.6% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present and 21.3% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. 44.3% of all households were non-families. 37.5% of all household were made up of individuals, 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years old or older.
The median age in the city was 42.7 years. 22.6% of the residents were under the age of 20; 6.3% were between the ages of 20 and 24; 23.6% were from 25 and 44; 25.3% were from 45 and 64; and 22.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.3% male and 51.7% female.
2010 census
As of the census[15] of 2010, there were 28,079 people, 12,366 households, and 7,210 families living in the city. The population density was 1,009.7 inhabitants per square mile (389.8/km2). There were 13,352 housing units at an average density of 480.1 units per square mile (185.4 units/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 93.8% White, 1.8% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 1.3% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.1% of the population.
There were 12,366 households, of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.2% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.7% were non-families. Of all households, 35.0% were made up of individuals, and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.83.
The median age in the city was 40.9 years. 21.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.1% were from 25 to 44; 28.2% were from 45 to 64, and 17.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.2% male and 51.8% female.
2000 census
As of the census[16] of 2000, there were 29,172 people, 12,368 households, and 7,507 families living in the city. The population density was 1,131.3 inhabitants per square mile (436.8/km2). There were 13,029 housing units at an average density of 505.3 units per square mile (195.1 units/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 95.40% White, 1.17% African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.77% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.07% from other races, and 1.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.45% of the population.
There were 12,368 households, out of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.3% were non-families. Of all households, 33.5% were made up of individuals, and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.90.
In the city the population was spread out, with 23.6% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $33,852, and the median income for a family was $45,160. Males had a median income of $32,451 versus $21,756 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,899. About 7.2% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 10.1% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
Mason City has a very diverse employment base covering multiple sectors of the economy including manufacturing, health, financial services, technology and education, with no one sector or employer dominating the market.
The largest employer is MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center, formerly known as Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa, and before that as St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, is the region's largest hospital. The facility serves 14 counties across northern Iowa. In June 2019, the hospital opened a new $10.6 million behavioral center. The new center will help MercyOne to increase the number of behavioral health-care services it can offer to those in the community it serves who are struggling with mental illness and substance abuse issues.[17]
Other major employers include door manufacturers Curries (part of Assa Abloy)[18] and Graham (part of Masonite International),[19] Woodhardbor Cabinetry Manufacturers, Principal Financial, Cargill Kitchen Solutions and the Kraft Foods plant that produces the nation's entire supply of refrigerated ready-to-eat Jell-O pudding snacks. Mason City is also a major production center for Portland cement. In November 2007, Reyes Holding / Martin-Brower opened a distribution facility serving McDonald's in 5 states.[20]
In March 2016, North Carolina based company Prestage Farms proposed to build a $240 million pork processing plant or slaughterhouse in Mason City,[21] employing about 1,800 people. In May, the Mason City Council cast a tie vote rejecting the proposed project.[22] Plant opponents raised environmental issues and expressed concern about possible harm to property values.[23]
Music Man Square is located near downtown and features multiple exhibits related to Meredith Willson and The Music Man, including Willson's boyhood home, the Meredith Willson Museum, and a replica streetscape from the musical.[25]
Events and festivals
In late May or early June Mason City holds an annual celebration of its musical heritage called The North Iowa Band Festival. School bands from across the Midwest compete during the parade to be named the best band. The home bands, Mason City High School and Newman Catholic High School Marching Bands, do not compete but do perform in the parade.[26] Meredith Willson returned to participate in the festival many times.
Mason City is widely known for its collection of Prairie School architecture. The Rock Crest-Rock Glen Historic District is the largest concentration of any city in Iowa. At least 32 houses and one commercial building were built in the Prairie Style between 1908 and 1922, 17 of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and eight more are contributing properties to a historic district.[27][28]
Both the Park Inn Hotel and Stockman House suffered from neglect and unsympathetic alterations before they were saved by community organizations. In 1989, the Stockman House was moved four blocks to prevent its demolition; it was subsequently restored and opened to the public by the River City Society for Historic Preservation.[30] Likewise, Wright on the Park, Inc. began restoration on the Park Inn Hotel in 2005 and the former City National Bank building in 2007. The organization reopened both buildings as a boutique hotel in August 2011.[31][32] The Park Inn Hotel is last remaining of the few hotels that Wright completed during his career and is considered a prototype for Wright's Imperial Hotel.[33]
The Rock Glen and Rock Crest National Historic district is a small enclave of single-family homes situated along the banks of Willow Creek five blocks east of downtown. It is the largest collection of prairie-style homes in a natural setting in the world.[citation needed] It features both Prairie School and Usonian design.[citation needed] Five of these houses were designed by Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin, two by Francis Barry Byrne, and others by William Drummond, Einar Broaten, and Curtis Besinger.[citation needed]
The Len Jus Building on North Federal Avenue has an extremely rare sheet-metal facade, it had been placed on the Iowa Historic Preservation Alliance's Most Endangered list because of its poor repair and indifferent ownership,[35][36] but is now being rehabilitated by the new owner.
Sports
Mason City has some history of minor league and amateur sports teams despite its relatively small size.
College Football Hall of Fame coach Barry Alvarez led Mason City High School to the 1978 Class 4A state football championship with a 15–13 victory over Dubuque Hempstead.
River City Rugby Football Club was established in Mason City in 1972. The club competes in two separate two-month seasons, April and May, and September and October. The club celebrated its 40th anniversary in June 2012. Over 250 players have played for the club since it first began. The club competes against teams from Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska in the Midwest Division 3.
Education
Primary and secondary schools
Mason City Community School District operates the following schools:
Harding Elementary School,
Hoover Elementary School,
Jefferson Elementary School,
Roosevelt Elementary School,
Lincoln Intermediate School (5–6),
John Adams Junior High School (7–8),
Mason City High School, (9–12),
Mason City Alternative High School,
Madison Early Childhood Center. Past schools include Lincoln, Washington, Grant, Central Heights, Central, McKinley, Wilson, Jackson, Monroe and Garfield elementary schools, and Monroe and Roosevelt junior high schools.
Newman Catholic Elementary/Middle School, Newman Catholic High School, and North Iowa Christian School. Mason City is also the home of the Worldwide College of Auctioning founded in 1933 by the well-known auctioneer Col. Joe Reisch and subsequently owned/operated for many years by Col. Gordon E. Taylor.
The town is featured prominently in the first episode of the 12-part documentary film How Democracy Works Now. In the 1989 movie UHF the character Stanley Spadowski (played by Michael Richards) is seen wearing a Mason City t-shirt.
Mason City served as the inspiration for the fictional town of River City, Iowa, in The Music Man, a musical that was composed and written by Mason City native son Meredith Willson (although the 1962 film, which had its world premiere in Mason City, was shot entirely at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California).[40]
Mason City is home to the Iowa Traction Railway. The IATR is one of the last surviving electric interurban railroads in the U. S., and the only one that still uses electric locomotives to haul freight in regular service.
While the Iowa Northern Railway does not operate in the city of Mason City, it does serve other communities in the Mason City micropolitan statistical area. The Iowa Northern has facilities in Manly, Iowa.
Airports
The city also hosts Mason City Municipal Airport, (MCW) with commercial service by United Airlines. It is the airport from which early rock and roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson) took off on the night of February 3, 1959, after a concert at the Surf Ballroom in nearby Clear Lake, Iowa, en route to Fargo, N.D. The plane crashed a few miles west of the airport in an historic event later referred to as the Day the Music Died. Holly, Valens, Richardson and pilot Roger Peterson all died in the accident.
^"Station: Mason City Muni AP, IA". U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991–2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
