Washington, Iowa

7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1958 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Washington Township. It lies in ZIP code area 52353. The Survey maps it on the Washington quadrangle. 7,352 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 761 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Washington within Washington County

On record in Washington

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 12 of 16 shown

H.A. Baxter Coal Company Historic Districtlisted 2015
Blair Houselisted 1973
Brookhart, Smith Wildman and Jennie (Hearne), Houselisted 2005
CM and StP Railroad Underpasslisted 1998
Jonathan Clark Conger Houselisted 1974
Gracehill Moravian Church and Cemeterylisted 1977
Joseph Keck Houselisted 1978
Kurtz Houselisted 1977
McCleery Calendar Factorylisted 2015
Winfield Smouse Houselisted 1983
Frank Stewart Houselisted 1987
Washington County Courthouselisted 1981

Every listing in Washington County

Population over time

2 figures

Washington grew from 7,266 to 7,352 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	7,266
2020	7,352	+86 (+1%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 7 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.

1958 USGS Davenport quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
1961 USGS Davenport quadrangle1:250000
1962 USGS Davenport quadrangle1:250000
1969 USGS Washington quadrangle1:24000
1984 USGS Muscatine quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings

Fires near this place

3 since 2008

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 3 fires within 5 miles of Washington between 2008 and 2017, burning about 12 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	1

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
17 April 2010	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	5.0 acres	Iowa Department of Natural Resources	WEST CENTRAL OF SECTION 10 OF DUTCH CREEK TWP, WAS
25 March 2008	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	6.0 acres	Iowa Department of Natural Resources	not named
24 March 2017	Debris and open burning	1.0 acres	Iowa Department of Natural Resources	not named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Washington County

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Washington: 1 producer. All of them 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	Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
	Young America Mine and Mill	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer

Every working recorded in Washington County

Storms near this place

60 of 101 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Washington in 101 storm reports between 1996 and 2026: 54 thunderstorm wind, 26 hail, 8 flash flood, 5 tornado. The reports record 28 injuries. 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 1998	Tornado (F3)	Washington	28 hurt, $9,000,000	no account filed
May 2000	Hail	Washington	$2,000,000	no account filed
June 2009	Flash Flood	Washington	$100,000	Heavy rains have resulted in flash flooding in Washington, IA during the evening of June 21 and early morning hours of June 22. The basement of a residence was flooded.
July 2007	Tornado (EF1)	Washington	$100,000	A tornado touched down on the east side of town. It moved south and lifted approximately one half mile south of town.\|\|A car dealership and nearby storage garage were damaged in Washington. A car and small pickup truck were reported to be briefly lifted and dropped. Numerous tree limbs and branches were down throughout town.\|
May 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	$100,000	no account filed
August 2010	Lightning	Washington	$50,000	Lightning struck an apartment building at 311 E Main Street in Washington, IA during the evening of August 13 resulting in a fire. Fire-fighting crews were dispatched at 1004 pm CDT.
July 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	$50,000	15 inch diameter tree down
August 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	$50,000	Many trees down along with a power pole. Power out due to downed lines and a blow transformer.
April 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	$25,000	Damage was first noted by law enforcement on a farmstead on 220th Street. The owners report the loss of the porch roof with windows blown out of the house. A machine shed had a wall caved in with power lines down.
April 2006	Tornado (F2)	Washington	$25,000	Rated F2
September 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	$20,000	Law Enforcement reported that trees were down along with roof and vehicle damage at the Washington Golf and Country Club. The time of this event was estimated from radar.
May 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	$20,000	no account filed
June 2010	Flash Flood	Washington	$10,000	Heavy rains resulted in flash flooding of E Washington Street and W 3rd Street in Washington, IA during the late morning of June 15. The flood waters receded by 12 pm.
September 2005	Hail	Washington	$10,000	Also reported by spotters.
August 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	$10,000	no account filed
June 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	$5,000	A roof of a mobile home was blown off. It then struck another mobile home nearby. Delayed report.
April 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	$5,000	First discovered by law enforcement. Owners report a utility shed was flattened and scattered across the property.
July 2003	Heavy Rain	Washington	$5,000	in 90 minutes
May 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	$5,000	A house trailer being transported was blown onto it's side by high winds.
April 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	$4,000	Power lines were downed on 220th Street just west of County W61 by a downburst from the mesocyclone of the Washington tornado or a rear flank downdraft. Winds estimated at 61 knots (70 mph).
March 2006	Hail	Washington	$3,000	just west of town
July 2003	Heavy Rain	Washington	$2,000	in 10 minutes
August 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	$2,000	Tree downed on power line.
May 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	$2,000	Severe winds tore the metal roof from a welding shop and blew it into a neighboring business.
June 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	$1,500	Thunderstorm winds toppled trees across the city.
July 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	$1,000	2 to 3 inch diameter branches down
October 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	$1,000	Measured at Sheriff Department. KAWG AWOS about 2 miles southeast recorded a gust of 49 knots from 1940-1950 CST.
June 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	$1,000	no account filed
April 2026	Tornado (EF1)	Washington	-	An EF1 tornado with estimated max winds of 100-105 mph begun roughly 3 miles east-northeast of West Chester, IA. Along its 5.3 mile path, it snapped several power poles and tree trunks, along with ripping sheet metal roofs off of farm outbuildings. A semi truck was also tipped over near the intersection of State Highway 1 and 92, which can be associated with a localized wind surge south of the tornado.
March 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	-	Wind measured at the Washington county EOC.
March 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	-	A machine shed and cattle shed were destroyed, both of these buildings had open sides to the south. The time was estimated from radar information and Washington Airport AWOS equipement.
March 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	-	A measured 74 MPH wind gust was recorded north of Washington on G36.
July 2025	Flash Flood	Washington	-	Law Enforcement Officers reported several street in Washington were flooded. Several streets in Washington were flooded.
July 2025	Flash Flood	Washington	-	A trained spotter and law enforcement reported that an underpass on 2nd Ave is flooded and impassable.
May 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	-	Numerous branches down down, on the south side of town, along with a couple of trees. The time was based on radar data.
May 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	-	A large tree was blown down. The time was estimated by radar data.
July 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	-	A public report that a neighbors fence was blown over as well as a weighted basketball hoop. The time of the event was estimated using radar.
June 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	-	A tree was blown down, onto a power line.
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	-	Several trees down in the city. One large tree fell on a house and vehicle.
May 2023	Hail	Washington	-	Report from Mping.
July 2021	Hail	Washington	-	Received a public report of three quarter inch hail.
June 2021	Hail	Washington	-	Penny size hail was reported.
June 2021	Hail	Washington	-	CBS2 Meteorologist storm chasing reported lots of quarter size hail and few half dollar size.
June 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	-	A few large limbs blown down, along with the roof blown off a baseball clubhouse.
June 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	-	Large tree branches blown down.
May 2018	Hail	Washington	-	Received an amateur radio report of nickel sized hail six miles southwest of Washington on Highway 1.
May 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	-	A delayed report was received from the public of a small tree down.
August 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	-	A trained spotter reported trees down in the city of Washington.
May 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	-	The Washington Airport AWOS sensor measured this wind gust.
July 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	-	The county emergency manager reported some trees were down in the city of Washington.
July 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	-	The AWOS site at Washington reported a 54 Kt wind gust.
July 2014	Hail	Washington	-	A trained spotter reported dime to possibly nickel sized hail.
July 2014	Hail	Washington	-	A COOP Observer reported dime sized hail. The time of the event was estimated using radar.
August 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	-	Wind gusts estimated to be 60 mph blew down a two inch diameter tree branch in a neighbor's yard around 1245 am CDT September 1/1145 pm CST August 31. Some loose objects in the area were also blown around during the storm.
July 2014	Hail	Washington	-	The Washington Fire Department reported half inch diameter hail with a few that were quarter sized. Time of the event was estimated using radar.
June 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	-	Wind gust measured by AWOS.
June 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	-	Wind gust measured by AWOS.
June 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	-	Winds were measured by an AWOS station.
May 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	-	A COOP observer reported 3 inch diameter tree limbs down.
June 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Washington	-	A trained spotter reported that trees were down in town, corn was blown over, and a small metal outbuilding was destroyed.

Every storm recorded in Washington 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.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Havre	5.4 miles	7
Titu	5.5 miles	7
Eureka (historical)	5.5 miles	7
West Chester	7.2 miles	7
Ainsworth	7.5 miles	7
Grace Hill	7.7 miles	7
Haskins	8.5 miles	7
Lexington	9.1 miles	7

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 Washington	An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q989456	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 462686. 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.