Codell

History

Codell was established as a Union Pacific Railroad depot in 1887. Union Pacific could not reach agreement with the town of Motor, so Union Pacific established the community of Codell three-quarters of a mile west of Motor. The Motor Post Office, originally established as Floreyville in 1875, was moved to Codell in 1888. The frame buildings in Motor were moved to Codell and Motor was soon abandoned. Early in its history Codell had a school, multiple churches and a business district with a bank, telephone central office, lumber yard, grain elevator, several stores, a doctor and a barber. Codell is notable for its tornado history which earned it a mention in Ripley's Believe It or Not!. The community was hit by tornadoes on May 20 in three consecutive years: 1916, 1917 and 1918. The 1916 tornado, estimated at F2 intensity, passed east of Codell in the early evening. The 1917 tornado reached F3 intensity and passed west of Codell, also in the early evening. In 1918, Codell took a direct hit from an F4 tornado just after dark. The school, M. E. church, hotel and several residences were completely destroyed. Many more buildings were badly damaged. Although the school was rebuilt and a new high school was built in 1938, the town never fully recovered from the devastation of the 1918 tornado.

Geography

Codell lies in Township 12 south of the city of Stockton (the county seat of Rooks County) and near the southeastern corner of Rooks County. The community lies along the banks of Paradise Creek and an abandoned railroad line. The nearest city, Plainville, lies approximately away to the northwest by road; the community is connected via 24 Road to a state highway, K-18, which lies approximately to the north.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  74
• Slender Glass Lizard

  Ophisaurus attenuatus Baird, 1880 · Squamata
  62
• Western Meadowlark

  Sturnella neglecta Audubon, 1844 · Aves
  52
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  50
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  49
• Red-tailed Hawk

  Buteo jamaicensis (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  46
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  46
• Ring-necked Snake

  Diadophis punctatus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Squamata
  44

Largest nearby schools

• Plainville Elem
  Elementary · Plainville · 234 students · 14.6:1 ratio
• Plainville High
  High · Plainville · 182 students · 11.4:1 ratio