Place:Newton, Jasper, Iowa, United States

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source: Family History Library Catalog

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Newton is a city in and the county seat of Jasper County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 15,254. Formerly known for being the headquarters of Maytag Corporation, it is the home of Iowa Speedway and Maytag Dairy Farms.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Newton was founded in 1850 and incorporated as a city in 1857. In the late 19th century, Newton's growth was fueled by the development of coal mines in the region. The first significant mine in the area was the Couch mine of the Jasper County Coal and Railway Company, opened in the 1870s. It was, for a while, the largest mine in the county, producing 70 tons per day. William Snooks opened a mine near Newton in 1886. In the early 20th century, large scale mining in the Newton area had declined, but there were still several mines in the area that were worked intermittently.

In the 20th century, Newton was a manufacturing community, much of its growth derived from the washing machine industry. Its most distinctive landmark, the Jasper County Courthouse, was built in 1911.

Newton entered the national stage in 1938 when martial law was declared during a strike at the Maytag Washing Machine Company. Iowa governor Nelson Kraschel ordered the Iowa National Guard to protect the company with tanks and machine guns ready against the workers. With the backing of four troops (companies) of the 113th Cavalry Regiment, Maytag company beat the strike and forced workers to return to work with a 10% pay cut.

On August 31, 1969, during an approach to Newton Municipal Airport, a Cessna 172H carrying former heavyweight boxing champion Rocky Marciano crashed into a tree in the middle of a corn field two miles south of Newton, killing Marciano, pilot Glenn Belz, and passenger Frank Farrell.

At the conclusion of World War II, the Maytag Washing Machine Company expanded its operations in Newton, becoming the Maytag Corporation. Known for its dependable line of washing machines and clothes dryers, the company later persuaded the town of Newton to change the name of its headquarters address in the city to “One Dependability Square.” In 2001, a decision to cut labor costs resulted in a reduction of the labor force at the Newton plant in favor of newer Maytag facilities in Mexico. Layoffs at the Newton plant continued through 2005. Whirlpool's acquisition of Maytag in early 2006 led to speculation over the future of Maytag operations in Newton. On May 10, 2006, Whirlpool announced that it would close the Newton plant and corporate offices in the fall of 2007. The plant employed about 1,000 workers and the corporate offices employed about 800 at the time of the announcement.

In January 2007 Whirlpool said in a statement that it sold most of the Maytag headquarters complex to Iowa Telecommunications Services Inc., a Newton-based telephone company which would use the complex to consolidate employees in a single location.

Although the company did not disclose financial details, Newton economic development officials said Iowa Telecom paid $1.5 million for the buildings assessed at more than $12 million.

The Maytag plant officially ended production on October 25, 2007.

In December 2007, TPI Composites announced plans to open a plant to manufacture massive wind turbine blades, which are now in production. President Barack Obama visited the Trinity Structural Towers plant on 22 April 2009, that year's Earth Day.

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