Saturday 16 March 2013

Littleport, Iowa

When I began Air Nice-to-Livelands, I was living in the town of Littleport in North East Cambridgeshire. In that linked post, I briefly mentioned our then-house being located on a lower level to the levees holding back the Ouse. Naturally, while my family and I lived there we were worried about potential flooding, but fortunately, nothing ever happened during our time there and nothing has happened since. However, back in 1999, the tiny city of Littleport, Iowa, which is mostly unrelated to the Littleport, Cambridgeshire, was destroyed by a flood.

There is little (no pun intended) available about Iowa's Littleport beyond its destruction. The place hasn't ever had a large population, and in 2005, it lost its city status, resulting in it becoming an unincorporated community; it was already a dying town prior to the flood. It had a population of 26 in 2000, and the only 2010 census information I could find said that Littleport was no longer inhabited. While I have never been to Littleport, nor have I been to or near Iowa, but I can't help feel a touch of sadness for the place. Humans once lived there and now it's another one of the many ghost towns littered across the United States.

The two Littleports have nothing in common except the name and the potential to flood. The Littleport in Iowa was on the decline for decades, with barely over two dozen people living there when it flooded. By contrast, the Littleport in Cambridgeshire is a thriving town with nearly 9,000 people as of 2011 — an increase in population from the decade before. It's unlikely to meet the same fate as its Iowa namesake, for the name is merely a coincidence, but it's always wise to be prepared...just in case.

4 comments:

  1. Aww. :( Stats like that makes me sad too. My friend used to live in a ghost town in upstate PA. It was interesting.

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  2. I lived in that little town in Iowa and it was a great place! It was our town and our population is what made the whole town know everyone and interact where 9,000 people in a town might be unfortunate. Sucks what happened with the flood but everything is done everyone knows we pulled together to get threw it and keep track of our residents. Littleport is in the name of our population! Less is more

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    1. Hi there, welcome to my blog. :) I'm pleased that someone who lived in Littleport, Iowa, took the time to comment here. I am sorry that your town was ruined but I'm glad that you and all the other people there were able to make it to safety.

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