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Pottawattamie County, Iowa

Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.

—newspaper titles

—digitized titles

43historic places

—earliest paper

1847formed

93,667pop. 2020

59cemeteries

—CW battlefields

At a glance

Summary

The National Register of Historic Places includes 43 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1966; 2 are also National Historic Landmarks. Most listings are in or near Council Bluffs, Avoca, Shelby.

Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.

Newspapers

Library of Congress

Newspaper directory data for Iowa is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Pottawattamie titles at the Library of Congress.

National Register of Historic Places

NPS NRHP

29 of 43 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.

43 listed properties

Property	City	Type	Listed
100 Block of West Broadway Historic District	Council Bluffs	District	2002
Bennett Building	Council Bluffs	Building	2001
Beresheim, August, House	Council Bluffs	Building	1976
Bregant, Jean and Inez, House	Council Bluffs	Building	2013
Carstens Farmstead	Shelby	Building	1979
Cavin, Thomas E., House	Council Bluffs	Building	1984
Chevra B'nai Yisroel Synagogue	Council Bluffs	Building	2007
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Passenger Depot	Council Bluffs	Building	1995
Council Bluffs Federal Building and Post Office	Council Bluffs	Building	2023
Council Bluffs Free Public Library	Council Bluffs	Building	1999
Council Bluffs Telephone Exchange	Council Bluffs	Building	2022
Dodge, Grenville M., House NHL	Council Bluffs	Building	1966
Dodge, Ruth Anne, Memorial	Council Bluffs	Object	1980
Eckle Round Barn	Shelby	Building	1986
Farnsworth, Shepard and Emma, House	Council Bluffs	Building	2018
German Bank Building of Walnut, Iowa	Walnut	Building	1991
Graceland Cemetery Chapel	Avoca	Building	1986
Haymarket Commercial Historic District	Council Bluffs	District	1985
Hotel Chieftain	Council Bluffs	Building	2014
Hughes, Martin, House	Council Bluffs	Building	1984
Hughes-Irons Motor Company	Council Bluffs	Building	2011
Jefferis, Thomas, House	Council Bluffs	Building	1979
Lincoln-Fairview Historic District	Council Bluffs	District	2007
Masonic Temple of Walnut	Walnut	Building	2026
McCormick Harvesting Machine Company Building	Council Bluffs	Building	2012
Norton, Charles Henry and Charlotte, House	Avoca	Building	2004
Park/Glen Avenues Historic District	Council Bluffs	District	2010
Pioneer Implement Company	Council Bluffs	Building	2008
Pottawattamie County Jail	Council Bluffs	Building	1972
Pottawattamie County Jail and Sheriff’s Residence NHL	Council Bluffs	Building
Pottawattamie County Sub Courthouse	Avoca	Building	1981
Reverend Little's Young Ladies Seminary	Council Bluffs	Building	1982
Sandwich-Marseilles Manufacturing Building	Council Bluffs	Building	2014
Shea, John J. and Agnes, House	Council Bluffs	Building	1995
South 8th Street Historic District	Council Bluffs	District	2020
St. Peter's Church and Rectory	Council Bluffs	Building	1992
State Savings Bank	Council Bluffs	Building	1984
Tulleys, Lysander, House	Council Bluffs	Building	1979
Turner, Francis A. and Rose M., House	Avoca	Building	1997
Wickham, O. P., House	Council Bluffs	Building	1979
Wickham-De Vol House	Council Bluffs	Building	1995
Willow-Bluff-3rd Street Historic District	Council Bluffs	District	2005
Y.M.C.A. Building	Council Bluffs	Building	1979

Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.

County formation

Newberry AHCB

Pottawattamie was formed in 1847 (1847-02-24) from unknown / original county.

POTTAWATTAMIE created from Non-County Area 3 attached to MAHASKA, Non-County Area 4 attached to MONROE, and Non-County Area 9 attached to POLK.

Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

Population by decade

Census

Pottawattamie County population from 1850 to 2020 (Census historical series).

1850	1860	1880	1900	1920	1940	1950	1960	1980	2000	2020
7,828	4,968	39,850	54,336	61,550	66,756	69,682	83,102	86,561	87,704	93,667

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.

Cemeteries & historical places

USGS GNIS

59 cemeteries and 4 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.

Cemeteries — 59 of 59 listed

Name	Lat	Lon
Allen Cemetery	41.44265	-95.85516
Belknap Cemetery	41.29255	-95.44252
Big Grove Cemetery	41.30882	-95.43217
Branson Cemetery	41.48504	-95.86055
Carson Cemetery	41.23918	-95.40481
Castor Cemetery	41.4125	-95.68875
Cedar Lawn Cemetery	41.26932	-95.82159
Crescent Cemetery	41.36642	-95.85653
Crook Cemetery	41.45833	-95.8739
Downsville Cemetery	41.35013	-95.70404
Evans Cemetery	41.32567	-95.83708
Fairview Cemetery	41.26921	-95.85005
Fisher Cemetery	41.38402	-95.68897
Flint Cemetery	41.2287	-95.18432
Garner Cemetery	41.2958	-95.80071
Graceland Cemetery	41.49364	-95.33772
Grange Cemetery	41.44304	-95.80278
Graybill Cemetery	41.25326	-95.77518
Green Valley Cemetery	41.27415	-95.82313
Griswold Cemetery	41.23608	-95.17391
Hardin Township Cemetery	41.29512	-95.65138
Hardin Township Cemetery	41.29527	-95.65139
Hazel Dell Cemetery	41.34991	-95.79366
Keg Creek Township Cemetery	41.19123	-95.68933
Layton Township Cemetery	41.47642	-95.21135
Lewis Cemetery	41.21167	-95.79418
Lewis Township Cemetery	41.21136	-95.79436
Lincoln Township Cemetery	41.38277	-95.23245
Macedonia Cemetery	41.19215	-95.4166
McIntosh Cemetery	41.40891	-95.84782
Memorial Park Cemetery	41.26566	-95.82639
Mercer Cemetery	41.17524	-95.16503
Minden Township Cemetery	41.47635	-95.54523
Neola Township Cemetery	41.45932	-95.61896
Newton Cemetery	41.45832	-95.31694
Oak Hill Cemetery	41.39056	-95.33689
Oaklawn Cemetery	41.32589	-95.38238
Old Town Cemetery	41.20273	-95.44244
Pottawattamie County Home Cemetery	41.32688	-95.66909
Reels Cemetery	41.42499	-95.83362
Ridgewood Cemetery	41.26896	-95.82538
Saint Bridgett Cemetery	41.46597	-95.82869
Saint Columbanus Cemetery	41.34294	-95.74366
Saint Columbanus Church	41.34304	-95.74278
Saint Joseph Cemetery	41.27251	-95.82159
Saint Patricks Catholic Cemetery	41.48306	-95.23098
Saint Patricks Cemetery	41.45866	-95.61898
Saint Paul Lutheran Cemetery	41.23214	-95.63813
Saint Pauls Evangelical Country Church Cemetery	41.17487	-95.7491
Saint Pauls Lutheran Cemetery	41.43356	-95.76058
Silver Valley Cemetery	41.40432	-95.49731
Walnut Hill Cemetery	41.27125	-95.82412
Waveland Cemetery	41.17394	-95.18795
Wheeler Grove Cemetery	41.21317	-95.33947
Whipple Cemetery	41.28808	-95.19878
York Township Cemetery	41.36666	-95.58362
Zion Cemetery	41.17779	-95.72705
Zion Cemetery	41.17787	-95.72684
Zion Congregational Cemetery	41.23287	-95.60802

Historical populated places — 4 of 4

Name	Lat	Lon
Harlan Junction	41.49805	-95.36361
Iola	41.33277	-95.38
Kemling	41.16666	-95.27861
Newtown	41.4536	-95.33639

Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.

Historical markers

HMdb link

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Search HMdb for Pottawattamie County, Iowa

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