Van Meter was laid out as a town in 1869. The city was named for Jacob Rhodes Van Meter and his family, Dutch settlers from Meteren, the Netherlands. Van Meter was incorporated on December 29, 1877.
The Van Meter Visitor
In September and October 1903, there were multiple instances of people claiming to have seen a winged, bat-like creature in and around Van Meter. The roughly nine-foot tall being, which has since been dubbed the "Van Meter Visitor", was reported to be able to shoot light from the horn situated on its forehead, and be unaffected by bullets. Clarence Dunn, one of the witnesses, had even made a plaster cast of three-toed footprints it left behind. It was sometimes accompanied by a smaller, similar being. After a community-led confrontation, the being disappeared after about four days, supposedly into the nearby coal mine. Claims of witnessing bat-like creatures or phenomena have continued, including into the 2010s. To commemorate the sightings, a Van Meter Visitor Festival transpires annually around the anniversary of the events.
As of the census of 2010, there were 1,016 people, 382 households, and 280 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 415 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 97.9% White, 0.2% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.6% Asian, and 1.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.6% of the population. There were 382 households of which 45.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.3% were married couplesliving together, 14.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 26.7% were non-families. 22.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.09. The median age in the city was 35.5 years. 31.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.4% were from 25 to 44; 26.4% were from 45 to 64; and 8.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.5% male and 50.5% female.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 866 people, 326 households, and 237 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,450.3 people per square mile. There were 342 housing units at an average density of 572.8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 98.15% White, 0.23% African American, 0.69% Asian, 0.23% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 0.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.39% of the population. There were 326 households out of which 41.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.2% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.0% were non-families. 20.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.13. In the city, the population was spread out with 30.5% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 33.4% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 8.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $50,625, and the median income for a family was $59,000. Males had a median income of $37,895 versus $26,023 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,272. About 0.8% of families and 2.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.
