Van Buren County, Iowa
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 20 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1972. Most listings are in or near Keosauqua, Bonaparte, Farmington.
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 Van Buren titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP13 of 20 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
20 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Aunty Green Hotel | Bonaparte | 1978 |
| Bentonsport (Additional Documentation) | Keosauqua | 1972 |
| Bonaparte Historic Riverfront District | Bonaparte | 1989 |
| Bonaparte Pottery Archeological District | Bonaparte | 1999 |
| Burg Wagon Works Building | Farmington | 1978 |
| Des Moines River Locks No. 5 and No. 7 | Bonaparte and Keosauqua | 1977 |
| Eisenhower Bridge | Milton | 1998 |
| Hotel Manning | Keosauqua | 1973 |
| Kilbourn Bridge | Kilbourn | 1998 |
| Lacey-Keosauqua State Park, Bathing Area (Area C) | Keosauqua | 1990 |
| Lacey-Keosauqua State Park, Lodge and Picnic Area (Area A) | Keosauqua | 1990 |
| Lacey-Keosauqua State Park, Picnic and Custodial Group (Area B) | Keosauqua | 1990 |
| Martin, Abner, House | Mount Zion | 1984 |
| Meek's Flour Mill | Bonaparte | 1983 |
| Paine, Samuel and Mercy, House | Bentonsport | 2022 |
| Pearson, Franklin, House | Keosauqua | 1978 |
| Twombley, Voltaire, Building | Keosauqua | 1993 |
| Van Buren County Courthouse | Keosauqua | 1977 |
| Vernon School | Vernon | 2002 |
| Wickfield Round Barn | Cantril | 1986 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBVan Buren was formed in 1836 (1836-12-07) from Des Moines.
VAN BUREN created by Wisconsin Territory from DES MOINES.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusVan Buren County population from 1840 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1840 | 1860 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6,146 | 17,081 | 17,043 | 17,354 | 14,060 | 12,053 | 11,007 | 9,778 | 8,626 | 7,809 | 7,203 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS104 cemeteries and 5 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 80 of 104 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Alfrey Cemetery |
| Anderson Cemetery |
| Anson Cemetery |
| Bentonsport Cemetery |
| Bethel Cemetery |
| Bethel Cemetery |
| Blackledge Cemetery |
| Blackmore Cemetery |
| Bonaparte Cemetery |
| Boston Cemetery |
| Boyer Cemetery |
| Boyer Family Cemetery |
| Bradford Cemetery |
| Burrier Cemetery |
| Cave Cemetery |
| Center Chapel Cemetery |
| Chapman Cemetery |
| Columbus Cemetery |
| County Farm Cemetery |
| Dibble Cemetery |
| Dodson Cemetery |
| Dulin Cemetery |
| Dunn Cemetery |
| East Home Prairie Cemetery |
| Egypt Cemetery |
| Farmington Cemetery |
| Farnum Cemetery |
| Fellows Cemetery |
| Forbes Cemetery |
| Fordyce Cemetery |
| Gilbert Cemetery |
| Green Glade Cemetery |
| Groves Cemetery |
| Harness Cemetery |
| Helwig Cemetery |
| Hickory Cemetery |
| Hissem Cemetery |
| Holsworth Cemetery |
| Hoskins Cemetery |
| Iowaville Cemetery |
| Jones Cemetery |
| Kilbourne Cemetery |
| Leando Cemetery |
| Lebanon Cemetery |
| Leech Cemetery |
| Lippincott Cemetery |
| Mantoyne Cemetery |
| Maple Grove Cemetery |
| Maple Hill Cemetery |
| Matthias Cemetery |
| McDaniel Cemetery |
| Methodist Episcopal Cemetery |
| Miller Cemetery |
| Miller Chapel Cemetery |
| Mount Moriah Cemetery |
| Neumann Cemetery |
| New Lexington Cemetery |
| North Upton Cemetery |
| Oak Lawn Cemetery |
| Oak Point Cemetery |
| Parkerville Cemetery |
| Passmore Cemetery |
| Phillips Cemetery |
| Pittsburg Cemetery |
| Prall Cemetery |
| Preen Cemetery |
| Purdom Cemetery |
| Railroad Grave |
| Reed's Creek Cemetery |
| Rhodes Cemetery |
| Rider Cemetery |
| Robb Cemetery |
| Rogers Cemetery |
| Roush Cemetery |
| Russell - Oaks Cemetery |
| Salubria Cemetery |
| Smith Cemetery |
| Snyder Cemetery |
| South Prairie Cemetery |
| Spencer Cemetery |
Historical populated places — 5 of 5
| Name |
|---|
| Business Corners |
| Lexington |
| Palestine |
| Parksville |
| Pleasant Hill |
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 Van Buren County, Iowa
Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.