Donnan, Iowa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Donnan is a former city in the U.S. state of Iowa, located in central Fayette County. For many years, this farm hamlet was Iowa's smallest incorporated community. Founded in 1922, the town never attracted many residents, peaking at around fifty people in the 1940s.[1] Gradually, the population eroded, leaving the town with less than twenty-five residents in the 1970s, to just ten in 1980.[1] Donnan's ZIP code was 52139. [2] The post office was established on July 10, 1874.[3] When it closed, on July 23, 1982,[3] commemorative covers prepared by the Iowa Postal History Society gave the town's population as ten.
In 1990, the last seven residents [4] made national headlines when they voted to disincorporate, ending their town's status as an officially recognized community.[1] A monument in front of the town's abandoned post office pays tribute to the empty community, which lies just a few miles north of its nearly empty sister community of Randalia (population 84). At the disincorporation hearing Matt Porter, who had served as the town's mayor for 35 years, stated "Three of us are in our 70s and sooner or later it's got to come. There's no one else to carry on".[5]
[edit] Origin of the name
Donnan was named for William G. Donnan (1834-1908), who served the area in the House of Representatives 1871-75.[6]
[edit] See also
Other discontinued cities in Iowa:
- Athelstan (final population: 18 in 2004)
- Green Island (final population: 54 in 1993)
- Hurstville
- Kent (final population: 52 in 2003)
- Littleport (final population: 26 in 2005)
- Moneta (final population: 29 in 1999)
- Oneida (final population: 49 in 1994)
- Plain View
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Jamison, Tim (1990-09-12), “State's smallest town about to disappear”, Waterloo Courier: A11
- ^ Directory of Post Offices, U.S. Post Office Department, July 1967, p. 57.
- ^ a b Patera, Alan H. and Gallagher, John S. Iowa Post offices, 1833-1986, p. 70. Lake Oswego, Oregon: The Depot
- ^ Columbia Gazetteer of North America. 2000. Columbia University Press.
- ^ Swinton, Val (1990-09-12), “Tiny town of Donnan closer to disappearing”, Cedar Rapids Gazette
- ^ Dilts, Harold E. (1993) From Ackley to Zwingle: The Origin of Iowa Place Names, p. 74. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Press, ISBN 0-8138-0837-5
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