Louisa County, Iowa
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 10 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1966; 1 is also National Historic Landmark. Most listings are in or near Columbus Junction, Wapello, Morning Star.
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 Louisa titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP7 of 10 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
10 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Bethel Church | Morning Star | 1979 |
| Columbus Junction School 1882-1920 | Columbus Junction | 1973 |
| Commercial Hotel | Wapello | 2001 |
| County Line Bridge | Columbus Junction | 1998 |
| Fairview Church and Cemetery | Wapello | 2023 |
| Florence-Council On The Iowa Site | Oakville | 1978 |
| Gipple's Quarry Bridge | Columbus Junction | 1998 |
| Louisa County Courthouse | Wapello | 1981 |
| Mellinger Memorial Library | Morning Sun | 2024 |
| Toolesboro Mound Group NHL | Toolesboro | 1966 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBLouisa was formed in 1836 (1836-12-07) from Des Moines.
LOUISA created by Wisconsin Territory from DES MOINES.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusLouisa County population from 1840 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1840 | 1860 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,927 | 10,370 | 13,142 | 13,516 | 12,179 | 11,384 | 11,101 | 10,290 | 12,055 | 12,183 | 10,837 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS65 cemeteries and 4 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 65 of 65 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Beauchamp Cemetery |
| Bethel Cemetery |
| Bethel Cemetery |
| Boston Cemetery |
| Bretz Cemetery |
| Bretz Cemetery |
| Brockway Cemetery |
| Buffington Cemetery |
| Bullis Cemetery |
| Cairo Cemetery |
| Cambrian Cemetery |
| Cedar - Bethel Cemetery |
| Cedar-Bethel Cemetery |
| Clarke Cemetery |
| Columbus City Cemetery |
| Concord Cemetery |
| Concord Cemetery |
| Covenantor Cemetery |
| Edwards Cemetery |
| Elmwood Cemetery |
| Estle Cemetery |
| Forbes Cemetery |
| Foster Cemetery |
| Fredonia Cemetery |
| Grandview Cemetery |
| Grim Cemetery |
| Griswold Cemetery |
| Hardman Cemetery |
| Harrison Cemetery |
| Indian Creek Cemetery |
| Knight Cemetery |
| Lettsville Cemetery |
| Linn Grove Cemetery |
| Long Creek Cemetery |
| Louisa County Farm Cemetery |
| Mallory Cemetery |
| Marsden Cemetery |
| Marshall Cemetery |
| May Cemetery |
| Morning Sun Cemetery |
| Mount Hope Cemetery |
| Newell Cemetery |
| Nicholson Cemetery |
| Oakland Cemetery |
| Oakland Cemetery |
| Old Clifton Cemetery |
| Orono Cemetery |
| Parson Cemetery |
| Port Louisa Cemetery |
| Potter's Timber Cemetery |
| Rahmiller Cemetery |
| Rice Cemetery |
| Saint Pauls Cemetery |
| Sharon Cemetery |
| Slaughter Cemetery |
| Smith Cemetery |
| Spring Run Cemetery |
| Sweet Cemetery |
| Tennessee Cemetery |
| Thompson Cemetery |
| Virginia Grove Cemetery |
| Wagner Cemetery |
| Wapello Cemetery |
| Wier Cemetery |
| Wilson Farm Cemetery |
Historical populated places — 4 of 4
| Name |
|---|
| Bard |
| Bethel |
| Hillsboro |
| Lafayette |
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 Louisa County, Iowa
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