BlockBefore

Bluffton, Iowa

12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1906 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Bluffton Township. It lies in ZIP code area 52101. It stands on Pine Creek. The Survey maps it on the Bluffton quadrangle.

Bluffton within Winneshiek County

On record in Bluffton

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 2 records

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 12 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

3 since 2012

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 3 fires within 5 miles of Bluffton between 2012 and 2018, burning about 2 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning3

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
25 April 2018Debris and open burning2.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
11 March 2012Debris and open burningunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
19 January 2013Debris and open burningunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Winneshiek County

Mines and quarries near this place

7 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Bluffton: 6 past producers, 1 unknown. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Burr Oak QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenUnknown
Carolan QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnknownStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnknownStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnknownStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnknownStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnknownStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every working recorded in Winneshiek County

Storms near this place

20 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bluffton in 20 storm reports between 1997 and 2025: 8 thunderstorm wind, 3 flood, 3 hail, 2 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 2007FloodBluffton$150,000Heavy rains led to flooding across parts of the county, mainly causing infrastructure damage.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindBluffton$60,000Trees were blown down at a farm in rural northwest Winneshiek County. One of the trees fell onto the porch of the farm house. Metal was blown off two metal outbuildings and a livestock trailer was rolled down a hill.
August 2007Flash FloodBluffton$60,000Scenic River Road damaged by water. Time estimated.
August 2007Flash FloodBluffton$45,000County Road W20 suffered damage from flood waters. Time was estimated.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindBluffton$15,000The public reported both a tree onto a roadway and loss of power in Bluffton.
August 2000Thunderstorm WindBluffton$12,000no account filed
June 1997Thunderstorm WindBluffton$10,000no account filed
June 2018Thunderstorm WindBluffton$2,000Trees were blown down near Bluffton.
May 2017Tornado (EF0)Bluffton$2,000A brief EF-0 tornado touched down northeast of Ridgeway. The tornado only produced some tree damage.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindBluffton$1,500no account filed
July 2025HailBluffton-A trained spotter reported penny to quarter size hail 2 miles south-southeast of Bluffton.
August 2024Tornado (EF0)Bluffton-This brief EF-0 tornado developed about 2 miles southeast of Bluffton. It lasted for one minute, damaging several trees but causing no damage to structures.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindBluffton-The public reported small tree limbs down throughout the town of Bluffton.
April 2022Thunderstorm WindBluffton-An estimated 62 mph gust occurred in Bluffton.
June 2018FloodBluffton-Runoff from heavy rain pushed the Upper Iowa River out of its banks in Bluffton. The river crested just over the flood stage at 14.11 feet on the 10th.
August 2016FloodBluffton-Runoff from heavy rain pushed the Upper Iowa River out of its banks in Bluffton. The river crested less than a half foot above the flood stage at 14.41 feet.
October 2013Heavy RainBluffton-In Bluffton, 2.25 inches of rain was measured.
August 2014HailBluffton-no account filed
May 2008HailBluffton-no account filed
September 2006Funnel CloudBluffton-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Winneshiek County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Burr Oak4.6 miles12
Kendallville7.1 miles7
Ridgeway8.3 miles12
Springwater9.1 miles12
Hesper9.5 miles12
Decorah9.6 miles12
Locust10.1 miles12
Freeport11.3 miles12

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 454725. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.