Sheldon, IA

Sheldon is a small town located in the northwest corner of Iowa. The population was 2,856 at the 2010 census. Sheldon is best known as the home of Iowa State University, which has a campus in the town.

The history of Sheldon can be traced back to 1857 when John Sheldon and his brother-in-law, Nathan Clifford, established a trading post on the banks of the Des Moines River. The Sheldons were among the first settlers in what would become Polk County. In 1868, they built a gristmill on Mill Creek and began producing flour for local markets. The mill continued to operate until 1984.

In 1892, A.O. Howland purchased 640 acres (259 ha) east of town and began developing it into an agricultural community called North Sheldon. Howland erected several homes and businesses along Main Street before selling most of his land in 1912 to developers who constructed several large homes on large lots near Lake George and started calling their community Sheldon Lakes after John Sheldon's original trading post. North Sheldon was annexed by Sheldon in 1917 and remained an integral part of the town until its dissolution in 1955 due to suburbanization pressures from nearby Ames and Des Moines.[5]

The early years of Iowa State University were difficult; there was no campus and no students. The first classes were held in a barn near downtown Ames with 30 students enrolled. Today, ISU has more than 34,000 students with campuses in Ames, Boone, Clinton, Davenport-Moline-Rock Island (DMRI), Fort Dodge, Grinnell- New Hampton- Ames (GNA), Indianola ( Iowa), Marshalltown- Mason City-Kirksville (MKC), Muscatine (IA), Oskaloosa (IA), Ottumwa (IA) , Pella , Red Oak , Riverside , Sioux City , Spencer , Urbandale .[6]

IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY - SHELDON Campus