Guttenberg

History

Prairie La Porte, meaning "the door to the prairie," was the first name given to Guttenberg by French explorers in 1673. The Guttenberg area was a site of Sauk and Meskwaki campgrounds until 1823. The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 transferred ownership to the United States and the Black Hawk Purchase of 1833 finally opened the area for legal settlement. Guttenberg's past is preserved today in the many limestone buildings built by German immigrants in the mid-to-late 19th century. These structures were used for both residential and commercial purposes. Many such as the Albertus Building are pre–Civil War era and are preserved in the Front Street Historic District. Guttenberg's riverfront location was pivotal in its early commercial development. The town first served as a focal point for westward settlement and as an early governmental and administrative center. It was the early location of the county seat from 1838 to 1843. Guttenberg served as a supply center for the general area until the Civil War, when railroads and an interior road system combined to detract from Guttenberg's role as a market center. The earliest businesses included general supply stores, blacksmith, wagon shops, and hotels. The loss of the county seat in 1843 slowed growth and the population declined. Economic revival began in 1845 with the influx of hundreds of German immigrants under the auspices of the Western Settlement Society of Cincinnati and continued with the development of the lead mining industry along Miners Creek. The German immigration began in 1845, and by 1850 the town was sizable and nearly all German. The city takes its name from Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of movable type. Many of the town's streets are named for 18th & 19th century German writers, poets, playwrights…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water. The community is next to the Mississippi River across from Wisconsin and is on US Route 52. Guttenberg has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfa).

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  532
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  483
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  459
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  444
• Bald Eagle

  Haliaeetus leucocephalus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  442
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  431
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  415
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  403

Largest nearby schools

• Iowa Virtual Academy
  Other · Guttenberg · 862 students · 34.5:1 ratio
• Clayton Ridge Elementary School
  Elementary · Garnavillo · 306 students · 15.3:1 ratio
• Clayton Ridge High School
  High · Guttenberg · 192 students · 10.7:1 ratio
• Clayton Ridge Middle School
  Middle · Guttenberg · 125 students · 31.3:1 ratio