alt=Brinkhoff Park, Pella, IA, 1964|thumb|Brinkhoff Park, Pella
Pella is a city in Marion County, Iowa, United States, with a population of 10,464 at the time of the 2020 U.S. census. Founded by immigrants from the Netherlands, it is forty miles southeast of Des Moines. Pella is the home of Central College, as well as several manufacturing companies, including Pella Corporation and Vermeer Manufacturing Company.
History
In 1847, 800 Dutch immigrants led by Dominee (Minister) Hendrik "Henry" P. Scholte settled the area known as Pella. The name "Pella" is a reference to Pella of the Decapolis, where the Christians of Jerusalem had found refuge during the Roman–Jewish war of 70; the name was selected because the Dominee and his followers sought religious freedom as well. The pioneer years are evoked in a biography of the Dominee's widow, Mareah Scholte, published by her granddaughter in 1939. Pella was the childhood home of Wyatt Earp, whose father Nicholas Porter Earp had settled on a farm near Pella. His brothers Warren and Morgan were born in Pella.
On July 19, 2018, a destructive EF3 tornado struck the Vermeer manufacturing plant in the city. Due to early warning, only seven of the thousands of people on-site were injured.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. Since 2013, it has been located in Iowa's 2nd congressional district. Before that year, it was part of Iowa's 3rd congressional district.