Ottumwa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 25,529 at the time of the 2020 U.S. census. Located in the state's southeastern section, the city is split into northern and southern halves by the Des Moines River.
The original town was founded on the former camps of Meskwaki Chiefs Wapello and Appanoose. Ottumwa first developed as an industrious city economically based in farm-equipment manufacturing and meatpacking, those being John Deere and John Morrell & Co. (now JBS) respectively. The city is also home to Indian Hills Community College to provide for higher education. Ottumwa is the center of the Ottumwa Micropolitan Area which includes all of Wapello and Davis counties.
History
thumb|Map of Ottumwa from 1908, showing the railroads and coal mines (red) of the region
alt=Main Street, Ottumwa, Iowa|thumb|East 300 block of Main Street, 1900
The city's name derives from the Native American Meskwaki language, translating to "tumbling waters" in reference to the Appanoose Rapids on the Des Moines River.
In May 1843, several investors formed the Appanoose Rapids Company and staked claim to of land in the present site of Ottumwa. Their colonization involved claiming land supporting three indigenous settlements. The first official cabin was built in May 1843 after the area was opened to settlement (an earlier cabin built in defiance of this date was destroyed by Army troops at that time). The original platt was titled Louis Ville. In 1844 the city was named as the county seat.
In 1857, coal was being mined from the McCready bank, a site along Bear Creek west of Ottumwa. In 1868, Brown and Godfrey opened a drift mine four miles northwest of town. By 1872, Brown and Godfrey employed 300 men and had an annual production of 77,000 tons. In 1880, the Phillips Coal and Mining Company opened a mine northwest of town. In subsequent years, they opened 5 more shafts in the Phillips and Rutledge neighborhoods, just north of Ottumwa. The Phillips number 5 shaft was deep, with a steam hoist. By 1889, the state mine inspector's report listed 15 mine shafts in Ottumwa. In 1914, the Phillips Fuel Company produced over 100,000 tons of coal, ranking among the top 24 coal producers in the state. Coal mining was so important to the local economy that, from 1890 to 1892, the Coal Palace was erected in Ottumwa as an exhibition center.
John Morrell & Company and their meat packing comples played a significant role in the development of Ottumwa from 1877 to 1973.
When the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad arrived in Ottumwa in September 1859, it ran parallel to the river channel. The availability of rail transportation encouraged both commercial and industrial expansion along the northwest to southeast axis. Access to the south bank of the river at first was by ferry from the foot of Green Street. By 1875 this ferry had been replaced by a bridge, and a number of additions had been made to the city during the first thirty years, all located on the north side of the Des Moines River. As development (almost exclusively residential) climbed the bluffs, the streets on top of the hills were laid out to compass points, rather than parallel to the river. Although there was some development on the south side of the river, South Ottumwa was not brought into the city limits until the 1880s.
Presidential visits
Visits by a sitting U.S. president include:
- Benjamin Harrison in 1890; toured the Coal Palace and spoke to a crowd of over 40,000.
- Theodore Roosevelt in 1903; made a brief train stop while travelling the United States. Nixon had been stationed at the Ottumwa airport while serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
- Barack Obama in 2010; spoke at Indian Hills Community College.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
Northeastern Wapello County contains large deposits of coal, and there are also large deposits of clay in the region, which played an important role in the industrial development of Ottumwa.
Climate
According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Ottumwa has a hot-summer humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfa" on climate maps.