Niota, Illinois

Niota
Unincorporated community
Niota
Coordinates: 40°37′03″N 91°17′17″W / 40.61750°N 91.28806°WCoordinates: 40°37′03″N 91°17′17″W / 40.61750°N 91.28806°W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Hancock County
Township	Appanoose Township
Elevation	159 m (522 ft)
ZIP code	62358
GNIS feature ID	0414531

Niota is an unincorporated community in Appanoose Township, Hancock County, in the U.S. state of Illinois. The community is located on the bank of the Mississippi River and is at the eastern end of the Fort Madison Toll Bridge, which connects Niota to Fort Madison, Iowa. Niota is the western terminus of Illinois Route 9 and is also served by Illinois Route 96, which is part of the Great River Road.
The community has fought Mississippi River flooding (cresting levees) through its history. In response to Upper Mississippi River flooding in April 1965, the US Coast Guard sent its Goldenrod to the community on May 3, 1965 for relief.^[1]
During the July 1993 flooding, inmates helped local residents to reinforce the levees in order to save the community. The effort failed, and the 1993 flood damage from the Mississippi River was the worst in its history.^[2] The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) proposed that the community be relocated and incorporated at a cost of $8.5 million, though most townspeople preferred to stay where they were.^[3]

Geography

Niota is located at 40°37′03″N 91°17′17″W / 40.61750°N 91.28806°W at an elevation of 522 feet.

References

• "Niota". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2009-09-19.

1. http://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/Goldenrod_1938.pdf History of USCG Goldenrod
2. Sara Rimer (July 29, 1993). "THE MIDWEST FLOODING; Felons and Farmers Lock Arms in the Flood". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
3. Effects of flooding on Niota, Illinois

• 1993 Mississippi River Record Stages and Levee Failures along the Illinois Border