Wayland

History

Wayland was originally known as Crooked Creek. Crooked Creek became a voting precinct on October 5, 1840. The first burial is given to John Bullock, in 1838. He came as a surveyor to this region in 1837. The need to establish a post office followed. Rufus M. Pickell, one of the local leaders, was appointed on February 3, 1843, postmaster for the land east of the Skunk River and south of Crooked Creek. Pickell was also a blacksmith by trade. Establishing a church followed, so the little log cabin Methodist Church was built in 1844. From 1851 to 1880, the town was known as Marshall. Christian Roth Sr. erected a brewery on his homestead in 1856, which was completed at a cost of over $4,000. Until its closing by laws passed in 1884, it had done a prosperous business and had a capacity of 10 barrels a day. Confusion over the name Marshall, Henry County and Marshalltown, Iowa, especially with mail getting mixed, required a change in 1879, with the smaller town relinquishing its name and taking up a new one in 1880. In the 1879 Henry County History book the following names can be found in Jefferson Township: Burrows, Clifton, Cook, Davies, Everts, Farmer, Hull, Jessup, Johnson, Manning, Mathews, Moore, Noble, Ressel, Sayles, Shively, Turney, Walker, Wallbank, Wiggins, and Williams.

Geography

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

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  511
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  450
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  408
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  383
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  354
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  341
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  323
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  319

Largest nearby schools

• WACO High School
  High · Wayland · 215 students · 10.8:1 ratio