Griswold, Iowa
9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Pleasant Township. It lies in ZIP code area 51535. It stands on Lone Tree Branch. The Survey maps it on the Griswold quadrangle. 994 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,102 feet above sea level.
On record in Griswold
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 1 record
Griswold National Banklisted 1979
Population over time
2 figuresGriswold fell from 1,036 to 994 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1,036 | |
| 2020 | 994 | -42 (-4%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 9 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1954 USGS Omaha quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Omaha quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Omaha quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1978 USGS Griswold quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Omaha quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
4 since 2009Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Griswold between 2009 and 2016, burning about 142 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/undetermined | 2 |
| Debris and open burning | 2 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 April 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 9 March 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 21 February 2016 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | ELLIOTT FIRE DEPT |
| 15 January 2014 | Debris and open burning | 120 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Mines and quarries near this place
2 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Griswold: 1 producer, 1 past producer. 1 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Unknown | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
59 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Griswold in 59 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 26 hail, 22 thunderstorm wind, 5 flash flood, 5 heavy rain. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2007 | Tornado (EF2) | Griswold | $1,000,000 | Tornado touched down on the southern Cass County line and moved northeast. The last 2 miles of the track showed an intermittent nature. Average path width was 100 to 200 yards wide with a maximum width of about one half mile. Estimated wind speed was 120 to 130 MPH. |
| April 1994 | Hail | Griswold | $500,000 | no account filed |
| May 2007 | Flash Flood | Griswold | $200,000 | no account filed |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griswold | $150,000 | The emergency manager reported several grain bins destroyed, a damaged machine shed, a damaged storage silo, several large trees uprooted or snapped off, and damage to a center pivot. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griswold | $50,000 | Trained spotter reported numerous large limbs down in town. Some 1-2 foot trees snapped off, one landed on a house. Another landed on a camper. |
| June 2014 | Flash Flood | Griswold | $50,000 | Cass County Emergency Manager reported major street flooding in Griswold. Water was covering the car tires and up to 18 inches of water covered municipal roadways in places. |
| August 2007 | Flash Flood | Griswold | $50,000 | no account filed |
| August 1999 | Flash Flood | Griswold | $25,000 | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griswold | $20,000 | no account filed |
| June 2014 | Hail | Griswold | $15,000 | Winds of 50 MPH and small branches blown down. |
| April 2001 | Hail | Griswold | $15,000 | no account filed |
| April 2001 | Hail | Griswold | $15,000 | no account filed |
| May 2001 | Hail | Griswold | $15,000 | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Flash Flood | Griswold | $10,000 | Water over the road at M57 and Highway 92 intersection. |
| July 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griswold | $10,000 | no account filed |
| May 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griswold | $10,000 | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griswold | $10,000 | no account filed |
| April 2010 | Hail | Griswold | $5,000 | Quarter size hail, combined with 50 MPH winds was reported. |
| April 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griswold | $5,000 | Nickel size hail also fell with the high winds. |
| September 2010 | Hail | Griswold | $5,000 | Quarter to ping pong ball size hail reported by a trained spotter. |
| August 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griswold | $5,000 | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Hail | Griswold | $5,000 | no account filed |
| May 2001 | Hail | Griswold | $5,000 | no account filed |
| May 2001 | Hail | Griswold | $5,000 | no account filed |
| April 1995 | Hail | Griswold | $5,000 | no account filed |
| April 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griswold | $5,000 | no account filed |
| April 1994 | Hail | Griswold | $5,000 | no account filed |
| April 1994 | Hail | Griswold | $5,000 | no account filed |
| August 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griswold | $3,000 | High winds and heavy rain. |
| June 2001 | Hail | Griswold | $3,000 | no account filed |
| April 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griswold | $2,000 | Pea size hail combined with the wind. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griswold | $2,000 | no account filed |
| April 2006 | Hail | Griswold | $2,000 | no account filed |
| April 2001 | Hail | Griswold | $2,000 | no account filed |
| April 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griswold | $2,000 | no account filed |
| July 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griswold | $2,000 | no account filed |
| March 2011 | Hail | Griswold | $1,000 | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Griswold | $1,000 | no account filed |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griswold | $1,000 | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griswold | $1,000 | no account filed |
| June 2025 | Hail | Griswold | - | Multiple hail sizes observed with largest up to ping pong ball sized. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griswold | - | Wind gust measured on a PWS in southwest Cass County. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griswold | - | Report of a large tree on vehicle. Time estimated by radar. |
| August 2021 | Heavy Rain | Griswold | - | A 24 hour rain total of 4.10 inches. |
| August 2021 | Heavy Rain | Griswold | - | A 24 hour rain total of 4.00 inches. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griswold | - | Trained spotter reported winds of 60 to 70 MPH in Griswold. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griswold | - | Trained spotter reported multiple trees down, including one on a home, and a roof off a farm building. Time estimated via radar. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griswold | - | Trained spotter reported gusts up to and around 60 mph. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griswold | - | Emergency manager reported broken tree branches across down along with power outages. |
| June 2014 | Heavy Rain | Griswold | - | Cass County EM reported street flooding with water up to the bottoms of car hubcaps. |
| May 2014 | Heavy Rain | Griswold | - | A trained spotter measured 4.10 inches of rain. Most of the rain fell in a 2 to three hour period. |
| September 2010 | Heavy Rain | Griswold | - | A spotter reported 2.64 inches of rain in the past 2 hours, along with pea size hail. |
| September 2008 | Hail | Griswold | - | Mostly dime size hail with some up to penny size. |
| September 2022 | Hail | Griswold | - | no account filed |
| March 2012 | Hail | Griswold | - | no account filed |
| April 2010 | Hail | Griswold | - | no account filed |
| April 2010 | Hail | Griswold | - | no account filed |
| May 2001 | Hail | Griswold | - | no account filed |
| October 2001 | Hail | Griswold | - | no account filed |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indiantown (historical) | 5.6 miles | 10 | |
| Lewis | 5.7 miles | 10 | |
| Lyman | 8.1 miles | 9 | |
| Atlantic | 13.4 miles | 9 | |
| Sycamore Village | 14.0 miles | 9 | |
| Grove City (historical) | 14.0 miles | 9 | |
| Cumberland | 14.4 miles | 9 | |
| Marne | 15.0 miles | 9 |
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 Griswold | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1932459 | The 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 457153. 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.




