There was much excitement over the coming of the automobile. A local mechanic constructed a horseless carriage in 1905 which ran to Spencer and back but was not further promoted. Ackley did pave its main streets by 1915 and many auto dealers started business. Marshall Canning Plant and husking shed was built in 1918 and canning began in 1919. The "Glacier Trail" (the road now designated as "County S-56") was marked through Ackley in 1922. More streets were paved. In 1927, a new school was built to house 12 grades. Ackley participated in athletic sports, music and academic activities with surrounding schools. A food processing company was established. The 1930s brought the Great Depression and 3 banks in Ackley closed. The Municipal Building was erected in 1939. The mayor and town council, fire department, police station, library and a large meeting room were housed in the building. School buses started running in 1946. City mail delivery was inaugurated in 1947. In 1948, the Ackley Golf Club was designed and the club house was built. In 1954, twenty-two rural school districts joined with Ackley to form the Ackley Community School. Ackley celebrated its Centennial in 1957. Ackley has drawn positive publicity to the community through the frequent stops by RAGBRAI and a new Country Club. Ackley is located at (42.552498, -93.053772). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. As of the census of 2010, there were 1,589 people, 699 households, and 447 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 789 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 94.8% White, 0.1% African American, 0.1% Native American, 4.0% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.8% of the population. There were 699 households of which 24.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.1% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.1% were non-families. 33.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.