Oelwein

History

The town of Oelwein was laid out in a corn field purchased from pioneer settler Gustav Oelwein on the coming of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Minnesota Railroad (later called the Rock Island) in 1872. Some years later the two dividing streets of Oelwein were named after his sons, Frederick and Charles. Oelwein's present site was entered in 1852 by J. B. Burch. The hamlet of Oelwein was instituted in 1873, and was incorporated as a town in 1888, with Dr. Israel Pattison becoming its first mayor. The town suffered its chief setback in 1887, when nearly all of the old Main Street business district (now First Avenue SE) was destroyed by fire. In 1890 the census gave the population as 830. By January 1892, Oelwein was chosen to become the center of the Chicago Great Western Railway; the CGW made the town the site of their locomotive and car repair shop, where four lines converge. Clearing the land for the shops began in June 1894. The shops were completed and put into operation in May 1899. Thus, Oelwein became known as the "Shop City" and later the "Hub City" because of the rail lines coming into town and the repair shops located here. By 1895, the population had increased to 1,928, and in 1897 Oelwein was incorporated as a city. In 1900, Oelwein had 5,142 people within the city limits, of whom 789 were foreign-born. and Washington Post's Book World, it was severely criticised by Cedar Rapids columnist Laura Behrens, who wrote, "it is so ridden with errors of basic reporting that the credibility of its larger premises is crippled," pointing out several factual errors.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  168
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  143
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  131
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  129
• Bald Eagle

  Haliaeetus leucocephalus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  119
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  102
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  99
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  97

Largest nearby schools

• Oelwein Middle School
  Middle · Oelwein · 359 students · 15:1 ratio
• Wings Park Elementary School
  Elementary · Oelwein · 345 students · 12.3:1 ratio
• Oelwein High School
  High · Oelwein · 314 students · 11.6:1 ratio
• West Central PK - 8 School
  Elementary · Maynard · 239 students · 18.4:1 ratio
• Little Husky Learning Center
  Elementary · Oelwein · 185 students · 15.4:1 ratio
• Oelwein Online School
  Other · Oelwein · 142 students · 71:1 ratio
• West Central Charter High School
  High · Maynard · 82 students · 8.2:1 ratio