Hiawatha, fl. c.1550, legendary chief of the Onondaga of North America. He is credited with founding the Iroquois Confederacy. He is the hero of the well-known poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Hiawatha(Ojibwa; “He Makes Rivers”)

Legendary chief (circa 1450) of the Onondaga people of the northwestern U.S. He is regarded by tradition as the founder of the Iroquois Confederacy. His story is told in Henry W. Longfellow's popular poem Song of Hiawatha (1855), though Longfellow perpetuated an error of Henry Rowe Schoolcraft's that placed Hiawatha in a Midwestern tribe.

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Hiawatha is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States. The population was 6,480 at the 2000 census. It is a suburb of Cedar Rapids and part of the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Hiawatha celebrated its 50th Anniversary in May 2000.

Geography

Hiawatha is located at (42.044409, -91.681025).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.5 square miles (9.1 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,480 people, 2,859 households, and 1,663 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,834.3 people per square mile (708.8/km²). There were 2,979 housing units at an average density of 843.3/sq mi (325.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.24% White, 2.16% African American, 0.31% Native American, 1.53% Asian, 0.37% from other races, and 1.39% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.33% of the population.

There were 2,859 households out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.8% were non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.6% under the age of 18, 12.1% from 18 to 24, 35.4% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $40,799, and the median income for a family was $47,135. Males had a median income of $37,277 versus $25,394 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,664. About 3.4% of families and 4.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.6% of those under age 18 and 1.7% of those age 65 or over.

Recreation

The city of Hiawatha maintains several parks: Guthridge, Tucker, and the Park Pavilion.

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