Norwalk, Iowa

Episode 40 / 18 October 2017 / 106 min / full

Six Unthinkable Things

"We're going to Norwalk, Iowa; it's in Warren County, in the south-central part of the state, with a small part extending into Polk County." about 0:09:19

The case: Murders of Jolene Forsythe and her children (June 1993). Read the case file.

The figures, as told in 2017

Population

10,135

Median age

35.7

Median household income

$80,406

Two-bedroom rent

$870 a month

Cost of living

93

Religious

40%

Property crime

▼ less than half

Violent crime

▼ one third

History, in brief

• The town was named after Norwalk, Ohio. about 0:12:16
• The first settlers arrived around 1846, among them a man named Samuel Crow. about 0:13:15
• Samuel Snyder built the first log cabin, the first construction in the town. about 0:13:51
• The next year more families settled and the place became known as Pyra. about 0:14:12
• The post office was established on June 18th, 1856. about 0:14:39
• George L. Swan laid out the town on a grid, built a hotel, and named it Norwalk after Norwalk, Connecticut, where he was from. about 0:14:44
• The first railroad construction came in 1882, running from Des Moines towards Missouri. about 0:16:08
• Norwalk was incorporated in 1900, with Adam Stiffler as its first mayor. about 0:16:18
• The town was originally only one square mile and was later extended by about ten miles. about 0:16:38
• Telephone service began in 1903. about 0:16:50
• The railroad shipped out livestock, which was a major local business alongside corn. about 0:16:58
• A big flood in 1947 damaged a bridge and the railroad was then largely abandoned. about 0:17:38

The reviews read out

Open the episode file