Kalona

History

Amish settlement in what is now the Kalona area began in the 1840s, placing the Amish among the first European settlers in the area. The split between Old Order Amish and Amish Mennonites occurred in the 1860s in most places, but it was not until the 1880s that the formal split occurred in Iowa, even though a process of sorting out between conservatives and change-minded Amish had begun a decade earlier or so in Iowa. Most Amish Mennonites later assimilated and lost their Amish identity. The Beachy Amish broke away from the Old Orders in the 1920s. The Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway built a 66-mile branch from Iowa City to What Cheer via Kalona in 1879. Kalona was established by the railroad on August 6, 1879. The name was suggested to the railroad by a Mr. Myers, who owned a bull of that name. The town remained unincorporated until 1890.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.

Largest nearby schools

• Mid-Prairie Middle School
  Middle · Kalona · 430 students · 15.9:1 ratio
• Mid-Prairie High School
  High · Wellman · 379 students · 13.1:1 ratio
• Mid-Prairie West Elem. School
  Elementary · Wellman · 350 students · 15.2:1 ratio
• Highland Elementary School
  Elementary · Riverside · 283 students · 14.2:1 ratio
• Mid-Prairie East Elem. School
  Elementary · Kalona · 272 students · 12.4:1 ratio
• Highland High School
  High · Riverside · 171 students · 11.4:1 ratio
• Highland Middle School
  Middle · Riverside · 111 students · 15.9:1 ratio
• Mid-Prairie Virtual Academy
  Other · Wellman · 15 students