Buena Vista County, Iowa
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 11 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1976. Most listings are in or near Storm Lake, Sioux Rapids, Newell.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for Iowa is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Buena Vista titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP10 of 11 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
11 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Allee, Jesse J. and Mary F., House | Newell | 1992 |
| Brooke Creek Bridge | Sioux Rapids | 1998 |
| Chan-Ya-Ta Site | Linn Grove | 1978 |
| Chicago, Milwaukee and Pacific Railroad-Albert City Station | Albert City | 1976 |
| Danish Lutheran Church | Alta | 2011 |
| Harker House | Storm Lake | 1990 |
| Illinois Central Passenger Depot-Storm Lake | Storm Lake | 1990 |
| Lewis “Lew” J. Metcalf Residence | Storm Lake | 2026 |
| Sioux Theatre | Sioux Rapids | 2012 |
| Storm Lake High School | Storm Lake | 2017 |
| Storm Lake Public Library | Storm Lake | 1983 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBBuena Vista was formed in 1851 (1851-01-15) from unknown / original county.
BUENA VISTA created from Non-County Area 9 attached to POLK.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusBuena Vista County population from 1860 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1860 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 57 | 7,537 | 16,975 | 18,556 | 19,838 | 21,113 | 21,189 | 20,774 | 20,411 | 20,823 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS29 cemeteries and 0 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 29 of 29 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Barnes Township Cemetery |
| Buena Vista Memorial Park Cemetery |
| Cooke Cemetery |
| Daily Burial Ground |
| Elk Cemetery |
| Fairfield Cemetery |
| First M E Church Cemetery |
| Garton Family Cemetery |
| Hayes Township Cemetery |
| Lincoln Township Cemetery |
| Little Sioux Valley Cemetery |
| Lone Tree Cemetery |
| Maple Valley Cemetery |
| Newell Catholic Prairie Cemetery |
| Newell Cemetery |
| Plainview Cemetery |
| Poland Township Cemetery |
| Saint Johannes Cemetery |
| Saint John Lutheran Cemetery |
| Saint Johns Church of Christ Cemetery |
| Saint Johns Lutheran Cemetery |
| Saint Joseph Cemetery |
| Saint Marys Cemetery |
| Scandinavian Cemetery |
| Smith Cemetery |
| Storm Lake Cemetery |
| Varina Cemetery |
| Woodlawn Cemetery |
| Zion Lutheran Cemetery |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Historical markers
HMdb linkMarker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.
Search HMdb for Buena Vista County, Iowa
Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.