IOWA GHOST TOWNS
Boone County
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Boone County was named after Nathan Boone.
An army officer in the Iowa Territory
Established in 1846
Listed below are names and descriptions of Boone County towns
and villages, many have long ago disappeared,
Some became a part of other towns, that are still in existance
today.
The list below was taken from the Annuls of Iowa Vols. XVII & XVIII.
Used with permission from the State Historical Society of Iowa
Would you like to help with this project? Do you know of more information about
any of these towns?
We would appreciate it if you would send it to us. Descriptions pictures etc.
For verification purposes, please list where you obtained the information.
You can click on the Towns with an asterisk* for more information.
* Angus Originally called Coaltown. In 1880- 1886, it promised
to be a city "Bigger than Des Moines" and had a population of 3500 to 7000 people.
BELLE POINT. In the north central part of Douglas Township. Post office, I850-57.
BOONE STATION. First name of the post office at Montana. Post office, I866-67.
BOONSBORO. The county seat of Boone County. It was located in the northwest quarter
of section 29, township 84, range 26, in I851 and the town laid onto It was a post
office from I853 to 1901. It was included in and became a part of the incorporated
city of Boone in I892.
BOONEVILLE. In northern part of section 33, Des Moines Township, just south of the
corporate limits of the present city of Boone. A post office was established there
in I850, but on the county seat being established at Boonsboro it was removed to
the latter place.
BRIDGEPORT. Shown on Parker’s map of 1856 in the northwest corner of Grant Township.
CARSON’S POINT. In section 9, Pilot Mound township. Post office, 1859-63
CASSDAY'S CORNERS. In northeren part of section 4, Pilot Mound Township. Post office,
1865-81.
CENTERVILLE. In the southeast corner of section 12, Yell Township, on the west bank
of the Des Moines River. Laid out in I855. It was prosperous, but only for a few
years.
COALTOWN. The orginal name of the town of Angus.
COAL VALLEY. In section 2, Marcy Township, about a mile northwest. of Moingona..
Laid out in 1867. A coal mining town.
DAILY CITY. In section 4, Yell Township. Laid out in 1855, but proved to be a town
on paper only.
ELK RAPIDS. In northern part of section 34, Douglas Township, on the east bank of
the Des Moines River. A place of importance, having a post. office in 1850, and 150
inhabitants in 1885, but soon after that it declined For a few years afterward Elk
Rapids was designated on the west side of the river, as there was a small settlement
there.
FISHER'S POINT. Shown as another name for Mineral Ridge on maps of 1808 and 1869.
GARDEN. on south line of section 4, Garden Township. Post office, 1875-81.
GARDEN GROVE. Same location as Garden. Post office 1873-85.
GRIFFIN In the: western part. of section 8, Harrison Township. Post office, I897-1900.
HARMON'S SWITCH. The present town of Jordan was called by this name for a while.
HORNBUCKLES POINT. On west bank of Des Moines River about three miles above Elk Point.
Shown on maps from 1862 to1868.
HULL. On the east line of section 19, Colfax Township, some two miles northeast of
the present town of Luther. Post office, 1873-75.
INCLINE. In section 23, Yell Township, on the Des Moines River. A coal mining village,
Post office, 1893-1900.
JEHU. This post office is listed in the U. S. Postal Guide for 1885 as being
in the county, but is not shown on maps.
LOGANSPORT. In section 14, Yell Township, on Des Moines River. Shown on maps of 1905.
MACKEY. A hamlet in the northwest corner of section 22, Harrison Township. Post office,
1878-1903.
MACKEY'S GROVE. Same as above. Post office, 1871-78.
MARCY. In section 13, Marcy Township, ahout three miles southwest of Moingona. Post
office, 1863-67.
MIDWAY. The name given at first to the present town of Jordan.
MINERAL RIDGE. The name of the post office (1854,-19O3) at the village of Ridgeport,
which see below.
MONTANA. The first name of the present city of Boone. It was laid out in 1805 and
the name was changed to Boone in 1871.
PADUCAH. In section 34, Union Township, as shown on maps of 1808-09.
PARKERSBURG. In the northwest quarter of section 2, Worth Township. Laid out in 1852.
It never developed much beyond a country hotel.
PRAIRIE HILL. In southwest corner of section 12, Peoples Township. Post office, 1859-85.
QUINCY. In section 14, Marcy Township. laid out in 1854. It never developed into a
real village.
RAPIDS. In Douglas Township on the Des Moines River about three miles northwest of
Swede Point. Post office, 1851-01.
RENNER. This post office is listed iu the U. S. Postal Guide from 1897 to
1900 as heing in the county, but is not shown on maps.
RIDGEPORT. In eastern part of section 18, Dodge Township. Laid out in 1854, and was
a village of some importance for many years. Its post office, Mineral Ridge, see
above.
RIVERSIDE. In section 12, Yell Township, near the west bank of the Des Moines River,
Post office, 1857-69.
SMITH'S POINT. In section 4, Yell Township. as shown on maps of 1863-69.
SWEDE POINT. In northeast corner of section 36, Douglas Township. Platted in 1851.
Post office, 1857-80. The name of the town was changed to Madrid in 1855.
UNIONVILLE. In Union Township. Laid out in 1858, but never materialized, nor even
got on the maps.
WORTH. In North Township. first in section 23, and later in three other locations
in that part of the township without changing the name. It ran from 1863 to 1869.
YOUGH. In section 21, Yell Township. Post office, 1861-69.
ZENORSVILLE. In eastern part of section 12, Jackson Township. A coal mining town
of 400 people at one time. Post office, 1881-1900.
If you can add any information for the towns above please drop us an email.
Thanks, Mel/Webmaster www.iowaghosttowns.com
This is another town sent in by Don Wilson
Angus, Boone Co., IA.
Originally called Coaltown. In 1880- 1886, it promised to be a city "Bigger than
Des Moines" and had a population of 3500 to 7000 people.
Coal was king and people were flocking to the area to invest in real estate and work
in the coal mines.
John Pearce migrated to the US from Wales in 1880. He and his wife , Jane Rees
settled in Angus and started a family. They lost a 2 year old daughter and buried
her in the still existing Angus Cemetery.
The cemetery is located over the Boone Co., line in Greene Co. It is a large
cemetery with a US flag flying over the gate where there is a guest registration
book stored in a mailbox.
Not a trace of the once thriving place with several coal mines, three churches and
several newspapers can be found. There is a bicentennial project stone marker at
what was known as "Whiskey Row" that states, "In the 1880's when Angus had a
population of about 7000, 16 saloons were on this road which is the Greene-Boone
county line, hence, in case of trouble, patrons could move from one side of the
barroom to the other side and avoid arrest by the officers of the first county."
A Swedish church was built first, then a Welsh church. It was noted that there was
little call for an English speaking church but eventually one was built.
There was once a couple of railroad lines running through town but today, all that
remains is an abandoned right of way.
By 1900, the Pearce family had pulled up stakes like most of the others and moved to
Colorado to work the mines there.
Don Wilson
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