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Donnellson, Iowa

12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1958 and the latest in 1990. It stands in Franklin Township. It lies in ZIP code area 52625. The Survey maps it on the Donnellson quadrangle. 885 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 705 feet above sea level.

Donnellson within Lee County

On record in Donnellson

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

Population over time

2 figures

Donnellson fell from 912 to 885 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
2010912
2020885-27 (-3%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 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

14 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 14 fires within 5 miles of Donnellson between 2006 and 2011, burning about 54 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined14

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
16 April 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resources2446 150TH AVE, SW OF DONNELLSON, IOWA
30 March 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resources160TH AVE & HWY 2, W OF DONNELLSON, IOWA
30 March 2008Missing data/not specified/undetermined8.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
30 March 2008Missing data/not specified/undetermined4.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
29 March 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined10 acresIowa Department of Natural Resources218 & 240TH ST., S OF DONNELLSON, IOWA
26 March 2008Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
22 March 2008Missing data/not specified/undetermined6.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
19 March 2011Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resources2050 238TH ST., IA

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Lee County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Donnellson: 2 producers, 1 past producer. 2 still produce. 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
Donnellson QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Franklin QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Hawkeye QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer

Every working recorded in Lee County

Storms near this place

39 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Donnellson in 39 storm reports between 1993 and 2026: 22 thunderstorm wind, 13 hail, 3 flash flood, 1 lightning. The reports record 1 injury. 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
June 2001Thunderstorm WindDonnellson1 hurtAn area newspaper reported that thunderstorms winds blew a semi-tractor trailer onto its side on U.S. Highway 218 south of Donnellson. One person was injured, and transported to a local hospital.
May 2003HailDonnellson$2,000,000KHQA TV
May 2003HailDonnellson$2,000,000no account filed
June 2010Flash FloodDonnellson$100,000Heavy rains resulted in flash flooding in Donnellson, IA and Fort Madison, IA during the evening of June 21. Water was over several roads in Donnellson. In Fort Madison, the flood waters were 1 to 1.5 feet deep on some main streets in the downtown area. Some streets were impassible. Water flowed into some buildings in the downtown area. A trained spotted also contributed to this report.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindDonnellson$100,000IDOT RWIS
July 2003Thunderstorm WindDonnellson$50,000Trees & power lines down
September 2008Flash FloodDonnellson$25,000Heavy rains caused flash flooding in Donnellson, IA and Fort Madison, IA during the morning of September 13. Street flooding was observed in both towns. The sewer plant in Donnellson was flooded. Sewers in Fort Madison backed up.
March 2004Thunderstorm WindDonnellson$15,000Reported by co-op
June 2000Thunderstorm WindDonnellson$10,000no account filed
August 2003Thunderstorm WindDonnellson$5,000Tree limbs down
April 1993Thunderstorm WindDonnellson$5,000After the passage of the thunderstorms caused by the dry line, a secondary area of thunderstorms developed over northern Missouri and tracked across southeast Iowa. They were ahead of the actual cold front associated with the low pressure system mentioned above. The storms produced strong winds. Winds gusted to around 60 mph in a few areas. Several barn doors were ripped off a barn southeast of Bloomfield. Other damage was very minor.
May 1995HailDonnellson$5,000no account filed
May 2004Thunderstorm WindDonnellson$4,000no account filed
March 2026Thunderstorm WindDonnellson-Partial lift of the roof on a shop.
March 2026Thunderstorm WindDonnellson-An NWS Storm Survey found uprooted trees from thunderstorm straight line winds.
July 2025Flash FloodDonnellson-Department of Highways reports that 240th Avenue is closed from Hwy 2 to 235th St until further notice due to high water and flash flooding.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindDonnellson-As storm and winds moved in, top of tree knocked over. Time of the event was estimated using radar.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindDonnellson-The COOP Observer reported power lines down at the farm.
September 2022HailDonnellson-Time estimated using radar.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindDonnellson-A trained spotter reported numerous trees and powerlines down. Time of the event was estimated using radar.
March 2017Thunderstorm WindDonnellson-A semi tractor trailer was blown over while traveling on highway 27 north of Donnellson, near the 1800 block.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindDonnellson-A semi trailer was blown over near intersection of Highway 2 and 27.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindDonnellson-A tree was blown down at fairgrounds.
April 2014HailDonnellson-A trained spotter reported pea to penny sized hail covering about 30 percent of the ground.
May 2014HailDonnellson-Quarter sized hail fell in Donnellson, IA at 418 pm CDT May 11. It partially covered the ground.
May 2013Thunderstorm WindDonnellson-A 2 foot diameter tree was down in town with several small tree limbs blown down as well.
April 2010HailDonnellson-Non-severe hail (<1.0) fell near Donnellson, IA around 305 pm April 30.
April 2010HailDonnellson-Non-severe hail (<1.0) fell in Donnellson, IA at 300 pm April 30. The hail covered the ground.
April 2010Thunderstorm WindDonnellson-Wind gusts estimated to be 60 mph blew some branches down in Donnellson, IA around 305 pm April 30.
April 2010Thunderstorm WindDonnellson-Wind gusts estimated to be 60 mph were observed in Donnellson, IA around 305 pm April 30.
July 2010LightningDonnellson-Lightning struck a television antenna topwer outside a home and followed the wires into the home. The roto box exploded ,and two TVs were damaged. Several people in the area later also reported computer and television problems. Witnesses mentioned that storms had ended in the area about 30 minutes before this lightning strike.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindDonnellson-The public reported a utility pole blown down. Winds were estimated at 60 mph.
April 2006HailDonnellson-dime size hail. Time estimated based on radar.
March 2002Thunderstorm WindDonnellson-Barn destroyed.
May 1995HailDonnellson-The supercell storm that produced this hail developed over Clark County, Missouri and produced a funnel cloud over Fort Madison, Iowa before it moved into west-central Illinois and preceded to produce a large tornado.
March 2026HailDonnellson-no account filed
July 2021HailDonnellson-no account filed
May 2014HailDonnellson-no account filed
April 1997Thunderstorm WindDonnellson-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Lee 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
Franklin3.3 miles12
Charleston4.0 miles12
Primrose4.5 miles12
La Crew6.3 miles12
New Boston6.5 miles12
Jeffersonville (historical)6.7 miles15
Keteban Switch (historical)7.1 miles12
Viele7.2 miles15

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on DonnellsonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1933655The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 455954. 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.