Various Images from Gilbert, Iowa

Gilbert is nestled in the midst of gently undulating agricultural land. The landscape surrounding the town is dotted with conventional farm buildings and livestock as well as newer agricultural facilities and row crop farming systems. The area also includes farmsteads or acreages where non-farming residents have their homes. And a few miles to the southeast or southwest, on land bordering the Skunk River and Squaw Creek, there are substantial residential sub-divisions.

Gilberts southern boundary is only two miles north of the Ames boundary that was extended when Ames developed the Ada Hayden Heritage Park. It is not difficult to look south from Gilbert and see the Ames water towers or the power plant and Design Center building at Iowa State.

The 2000 census reported that Gilbert had 987 residents. Considering the influx of residents, it is most likely that there are now over 1,000 people who live in the town. A large percentage of the workforce is employed at Iowa State and other places outside of town.

Generally speaking, people in the area are proud of the quality of education that the Gilbert Community Schools provide. The district covers 48 square miles. The enrollment has increased by more than 55% since 1990 with the number of students climbing to over 1,061 as of July 2006. Many students live in the northern part of Ames. In April 2004, the district held an election on a proposed $8,275,000 bond issue for a new middle school, vocational education facility, and air-conditioning at the current junior-senior high building. The voters overwhelmingly supported the project with 85 percent of 600 voters casting a "yes" ballot. The total cost was projected to be $11,870,000. The middle school is ready for use in the fall of 2006.

Enrollment in the district increased by eight percent during the 2005-2006 school year. The school board, anticipating that it will build another elementary school within a few years if the district continues to grow at its current pace, has obtained an option to buy 20 acres just west of Gilbert's residential area and on the north side of the main highway through town. If the current growth continues, the Gilbert schools will have more than 1,500 students in the fall of 2016.

The main east-west road through Gilbert is county highway E23. It has only one stop sign within the city limits. A Union Pacific rail line goes north and south through the town. A long time ago, passengers could easily ride the train to Ames and other places, but today the railroad is mainly for hauling grain and other commercial uses. The train doesn't stop in Gilbert, but its whistle loudly announces its passage through the town and triggers a nostalgic feeling. The Heartland Senior Services of Story County provides van transportation to older people and other persons who wish to use the service.

Gilbert has attractive parks. The largest is Upstill Park. It is being developed by Gilbert Vision 2000, Inc. on behalf of the schools and city. The park consists of rest room facility, concession stand, soccer fields, marsh, and a hard-surfaced bicycle/walking trail surrounded by prairie patches and indigenous trees. The town also has Lion's Park and Banford Park. Both have playground equipment and picnic shelters. Lion's Park also has a tennis court and basketball hoop. Soccer is one of the most popular organized activities in the parks.

Gilbert residents are fortunate to have other great outdoor recreational facilities located only a few minutes from town. The Ames Country Club and Oaks Public Golf Course are within a couple of miles south of town. The Skunk River Green Belt, east of Gilbert, is under the jurisdiction of Story County and has a canoe trail with access to a 17-mile stretch of river at each bridge between Story City and Ames, a distance of nine miles as the crow flies. The green belt also includes Peterson Pits, where there is a beach for swimming and five miles of looped trails for walking, bicycling, and horseback riding. Hayden Park, two miles from Gilbert on the north edge of Ames, has 437 acres of land that surround and include a former rock quarry with 120 acres of water for non-motorized boating. There are hard-surfaced and crushed-rock trails for walking and bicycling.

The town of Gilbert is governed by a five-member city council and mayor. Generally-speaking, they hold meetings at 7 pm on the first and third Mondays of each month. There is also a parks and recreation commission and a planning and zoning commission.

The current staffing configuration at city hall consists of a clerk, deputy clerk, maintenance supervisor, and water superintendent. On two occasions in the last decade, the council has experimented with having a city manager.The tenure of one was from the fall of 1999 to the spring of 2000, and the tenure of the other was from the winter of 2004 through the spring of 2006.

Municipal elections are held in November of odd-numbered years. The mayoral seat is on the ballot at each election. The council positions are staggered. For instance, in 2003, three council positions were on the ballot, and in 2005, two council positions were on the ballot.

Some residential sections of the community have an old-time, small town feel. There is also a large, newer area on the south part of Gilbert, consisting of homes built Rich Lepper Construction, Inc. during the last decade. The company is currently developing a new addition that will extend the residential area to the fence line that marks Gilberts southern boundary line. The town has a few apartment buildings and rental homes.

Gilbert's planning and zoning commission and the city council worked for more than four years to create a comprehensive land use plan that was approved in December 2003. The consultants for the plan surveyed residents and concluded the people of Gilbert, generally speaking, place a high value on being able to live in an autonomous small town near Ames and Iowa State University with all the urban amenities that those places have to offer. In part, the comprehensive plan is an attempt to ensure that Gilberts growth and development is based on a vision of the community and not driven by outside forces. The plan is also an attempt to ensure that Gilbert maintains its small town character.

The council also worked for several years with the City of Ames and Story County to develop an urban fringe plan for greater cooperation between the jurisdictions as they face development pressure in the area between Ames and Gilbert. That plan was completed and approved in July 2006 except for a provision for an agricultural preserve area between Ames and Gilbert. The three governmental bodies will study the preserve further with the intention of reaching a final decision about it in January 2007.

The Gilbert fire department's firefighters, first responders and EMT's were awarded The President's Volunteer Service Award for Community Service from the President's Council on Civic and Service Participation in May 2004.

Gilbert has an active Lions Club that organizes hamburger fries, the Spring-time city-wide cleanup day, and an occasional pancake breakfast. The proceeds support screening programs for preschool youth to discover potential vision problems and projects that aid seeing-impaired persons.

There are three chapters of the Beta Sigma Phi Sorority that organize Gilbert's annual Easter egg hunt, provide clothing for needy Gilbert students, sponsor scholarships for Gilbert High School graduates, and donate monies to the teacher discretionary fund.

Gilbert and area residents are also active in the community via the Vision 2000 organization to develop the Upstill Park, the Heart of Iowa Soccer Club, baseball and softball teams, 4-H and scouting programs, the Triple G Square Dance Club, TOPS Club, Fifty Plus Club, the Gilbert tractor club, and the Fabricators quilting club.

There are two restaurants in downtown Gilbert. The Open Flame Steakhouse is on Main Street and serves Iowa cuisine and has a full service bar. People can even grill their own steaks and other meat. There is also Daisychains and Laughs, a coffeebar and gift shop that opened on Main Street in the fall of 2003. During that same time, the Left Bank Studio opened in the historic brick bank building at the corner of Main and First Streets.

The Consignment Gallery for gently-used furniture is the third new business in town. It opened on Main Street on July 1, 2004. Two more businesses joined Main Street in November of 2005.  Signature Style, a full-service hair salon is owned and operated by Julie Spear.  JB Knacker moved from "the barn", previously located a mile southeast of town, to the store front just south of The Left Bank Studio.  Their specialties include antiques, vintage pieces and funky finds.  Other local businesses include the well-known Companion Animal Clinic, where people from miles around bring their pets for veterinary attention (now located at the corner of 2nd and Dunn Streets), the Heart of Iowa Coop, Dairyland Seed Research, Gilbert Mini-Storage, Mikes Custom Cabinets, The Gilbert Car Wash and Mullenbach Construction and Self-Storage.   

Gilbert has neither a grocery store nor a gas station, but there is a Casey's convenience store one mile east of town on Highway 69. The other businesses at the corner of Highway 69 and E23 include: All-American Turf Beauty, Jerry's Country Store, Redling Repair (for vehicles), Risco Self-Storage, the Suburban Caf, and the Suburban office complex. Many local farmers gather for morning coffee and conversation either at the coop or the Suburban.
The DeMoss Pumpkin Farm is a half mile west of town. They sell seasonal garden produce and baked goods at farmer's markets and on the farm.