Page Contents for Sabula, Iowa

Statistics & Facts

History & History-related items

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Statistics & Facts

The Iowa state capital is Des Moines.
The population of Sabula is approximately 710 (1990), 576 (2010).
The approximate number of families is 332 (1990), 270 (2010).
The amount of land area in Sabula is 1.016 sq. kilometers.
The amount of surface water is 2.526 sq kilometers.
The distance from Sabula to Washington DC is 754 miles.
The distance to the Iowa state capital is 185 miles. (as the crow flies)
Sabula is positioned 42.06 degrees north of the equator and 90.17 degrees west of the prime meridian.

History & History Related Items

Sabula, Iowa is an island in the Missippi River. It is Iowa's only island city. It was established in 1835 when, according to legend, Isaac Dorman crossed the river from the Illinois side on a log and decided to settle on the present site of Sabula. In the late 1800's the principal industries in the community included a large "pearl button" factory--which produced buttons from clam shells harvested from large clam beds located in the river adjacent to the shoreline. The thriving community also supported a large hog slaughtering industry. The community didn't actually become an island until the lock and dam system was constructed on the upper Mississippi in the l930's. Thereupon, the lowlands lying west of the townsite were permanently flooded, creating the "Island City", as the town is now known. Sabula may be small, but it has a rich history as an archetypical river city.
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