The railroad that cut through this country brought settlers who were lured to the prairie land for rice farming, cattle raising and later oil fields. Much of southwest Louisiana was developed by the North American Land and Timber Co. Seaman A. Knapp, president of the Iowa State College of Agriculture, was engaged in 1885 to demonstrate the suitability of the region for rice production. Knapp attracted a number of Iowans to settle the area.[3] The settlers were lured to this area by advertisements published in newspapers in the midwestern states.
Iowa experienced a growth boom when oil was struck in 1930 and oil companies came to try their luck in the Iowa oil and gas fields. Even though this was the Great Depression era, Iowa thrived as more men came to work in the oil fields.
Today, oil continues to be a vital part of the town's economy, as are farming and cattle.[4][5]
The town of "Iowa" is actually pronounced with the long A sound at the end ("EYE-uh-way"), opposed to the pronunciation of the state of Iowa.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town of Iowa has a total area of 3.17 square miles (8.22 km2), of which 3.15 square miles (8.15 km2) is land and 0.03 square miles (0.07 km2), or 0.80%, is water.[7]
U.S. Route 90 passes through the center of town as 4th Street, and Interstate 10 passes along the northern edge, with access from exits 43 and 44. The southern terminus of U.S. Route 165 is at US 90 on the eastern town border. Lake Charles is 13 miles (21 km) to the west via Highways 90 or 10, and Lafayette is 63 miles (101 km) to the east. US 165 leads 85 miles (137 km) northeast to Alexandria.
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