Maxwell, Iowa
8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Indian Creek Township. It lies in ZIP code area 50161. It stands on Rock Creek. The Survey maps it on the Maxwell quadrangle. 859 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 883 feet above sea level.
On record in Maxwell
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
Calamus Creek Bridgelisted 1998
Population over time
2 figuresMaxwell fell from 920 to 859 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 | 920 | |
| 2020 | 859 | -61 (-7%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 8 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 Des Moines quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Des Moines quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Des Moines quadrangle1:250000
- 1969 USGS Des Moines quadrangle1:250000
- 1975 USGS Maxwell quadrangle1:24000
- 1984 USGS Des Moines quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
22 since 2011Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 22 fires within 5 miles of Maxwell between 2011 and 2019, burning about 234 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 burning | 13 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 9 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 September 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 12 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | 31766 645 AVE, IA |
| 22 August 2012 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 7 May 2018 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 3 May 2012 | Debris and open burning | 3.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 6 April 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | 16110 NE 68TH ST., IA |
| 5 April 2016 | Debris and open burning | 33 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | CAMBRIDGE/UNION TOWNSHIP |
| 27 April 2018 | Debris and open burning | 3.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
4 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Maxwell: 4 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boyd Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Cook Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| E. Aarthun Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
44 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Maxwell in 44 storm reports between 1998 and 2025: 13 hail, 11 thunderstorm wind, 11 heavy rain, 5 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Maxwell | $100,000 | The Emergency manager reported a swath of corn blown down between Collins and Maxwell. |
| May 2004 | Flash Flood | Maxwell | $50,000 | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Flash Flood | Maxwell | $25,000 | Law enforcement reported flash flooding around Maxwell with numerous roads reported as having water running over them. |
| May 2013 | Hail | Maxwell | $25,000 | Hail reached quarter size by 1838 CST. |
| July 2000 | Hail | Maxwell | $25,000 | no account filed |
| December 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Maxwell | $20,000 | Public reported large tree on a home. Time estimated from radar. |
| May 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Maxwell | $10,000 | Fire Department reported 6 inch diameter tree snapped near the base as well as a 12 inch tree limb downed onto a fence. |
| May 2014 | Flash Flood | Maxwell | $10,000 | Highway 210 had water across the road between 670th and 680th ave, about 2 miles east of Maxwell. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Maxwell | $10,000 | Roof ripped off of a mobile home. |
| August 2010 | Flash Flood | Maxwell | $10,000 | Flash flooding reported with water over the road 1/2 mile north of Highway 210 on 670th Ave and 310th Street. |
| August 2004 | Tornado (F0) | Maxwell | $10,000 | Tornado tracked through the north end of a farmstead resulting in tree damage. One window was blown out of the farmhouse. |
| August 2004 | Hail | Maxwell | $10,000 | no account filed |
| July 2000 | Hail | Maxwell | $10,000 | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Hail | Maxwell | $5,000 | no account filed |
| April 2001 | Hail | Maxwell | $3,000 | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Maxwell | $3,000 | no account filed |
| June 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Maxwell | $2,000 | Law enforcement relayed reports of a tree down in Maxwell. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Maxwell | $2,000 | Power was knocked out in Maxwell. |
| May 2004 | Tornado (F0) | Maxwell | $2,000 | Intermittent tornado track in open fields. |
| April 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Maxwell | $2,000 | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Maxwell | $2,000 | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Maxwell | $2,000 | no account filed |
| May 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Maxwell | $1,000 | Numerous 2 to 4 inch limbs were down in Maxwell. |
| May 2025 | Hail | Maxwell | - | Mostly small hail with a few stones up to quarter sized. |
| April 2022 | Heavy Rain | Maxwell | - | Storm total of 3.90 inches of rain. |
| April 2022 | Heavy Rain | Maxwell | - | Storm total of 3.09 inches of rain. Rain continues. |
| April 2022 | Heavy Rain | Maxwell | - | Storm total of 3.80 inches of rain. |
| July 2021 | Flash Flood | Maxwell | - | Trained spotter reports water over the intersection of Woodlawn and 2nd Street at least 6 inches deep. Report via social media. |
| July 2021 | Heavy Rain | Maxwell | - | Public report of 5.20 inches of rain. |
| October 2020 | Hail | Maxwell | - | A trained spotter relayed an image of roughly penny to nickel sized hail. |
| September 2019 | Heavy Rain | Maxwell | - | Coop observer recorded heavy rainfall of 2.60 inches over the last 24 hours. |
| May 2018 | Hail | Maxwell | - | Trained spotter reported quarter sized hail falling on the south side of Maxwell along with strong winds. No wind damage was observed at the time. |
| July 2018 | Funnel Cloud | Maxwell | - | Public reported a funnel cloud. |
| June 2018 | Heavy Rain | Maxwell | - | The Maxwell LARC recorded 3.8 inches of heavy rainfall so far today. |
| June 2018 | Heavy Rain | Maxwell | - | Public reported heavy rainfall of about 5 inches since 5:45 pm today, and that there was standing water in the area. |
| September 2016 | Heavy Rain | Maxwell | - | Coop observer reported heavy rainfall of 2.50 inches. |
| August 2016 | Heavy Rain | Maxwell | - | Public reported storm total heavy rainfall of 4.00 inches. |
| April 2012 | Heavy Rain | Maxwell | - | Rainfall of 2.50 inches in 24 hours. |
| June 2008 | Heavy Rain | Maxwell | - | Rainfall of 1.50 inches. |
| August 2004 | Tornado (F0) | Maxwell | - | Tornado caused relatively little damage as it tracked through open country. |
| May 2023 | Hail | Maxwell | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Hail | Maxwell | - | no account filed |
| July 2000 | Hail | Maxwell | - | no account filed |
| October 1998 | Hail | Maxwell | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa Center | 2.5 miles | 8 | |
| Robison-Whitaker Acres | 3.0 miles | 8 | |
| Collins | 5.0 miles | 8 | |
| Cambridge | 6.9 miles | 11 | |
| Shipley | 8.5 miles | 11 | |
| Nevada | 9.5 miles | 9 | |
| Colo | 9.8 miles | 9 | |
| Huxley | 10.7 miles | 11 |
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 Maxwell | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1889252 | 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 458863. 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.





