Downing

History

Although not being laid out as a town until 1872, the Downing area was one of the earliest settled areas of Schuyler County, with Henry Downing building a home and claiming land a few miles south of the area circa 1837. It was also near present-day Downing that the first school in the county was established. In the spring of 1841, a crude log cabin was built for this purpose near Henry Downing's home and Miss Esther Hathaway was employed as a teacher. One of the early names for the unincorporated settlement was Cherry Grove. During the Civil War, on July 1, 1862, a small skirmish took place near Cherry Grove. Cavalry from the second battalion, Eleventh Missouri State Militia, a pro-Union force, engaged a small number of Confederate troops under Colonel Joseph C. Porter. Porter's outnumbered forces were defeated, with four killed and several men and horses captured. The Union forces had one man badly injured, who would die a few days later. At the time of the skirmish, Porter was heavily involved in recruiting men in northeast Missouri for the Confederate cause. The following month, he suffered a larger defeat some twenty-five miles southwest at the Battle of Kirksville. In September 1872, the Missouri Town Company created the original town plat, naming it for the president of the company, H. H. Downing. Land for the town, the railroad right of way, and depot were donated by James Prime, and the Missouri, Iowa, and Nebraska Railway constructed the depot in April 1872. By the late 1880s, the Downing business district included four general stores, two drug stores, two grocers, two hardware stores, a restaurant, blacksmith, and two hotels. Manufacturing included two handle factories, a wagon maker, a hoop factory, a harness and saddle maker, and two combination saw/grist…

Geography

Downing is located at (40.487682, -92.368022). 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

• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  88
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  77
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  72
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  67
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  63
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  63
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  60
• Northern Flicker

  Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  53

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2025-06-25
  10 km WNW of Marysville, Iowa