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Wellman, Iowa

7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1958 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Lime Creek Township. It lies in ZIP code area 52356. The Survey maps it on the Wellman quadrangle. 1,524 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 699 feet above sea level.

Wellman within Washington County

On record in Wellman

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

Wellman grew from 1,408 to 1,524 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
20101,408
20201,524+116 (+8%)

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.

Fires near this place

3 since 2009

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 3 fires within 5 miles of Wellman between 2009 and 2015, burning about 59 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 burning2
Missing data/not specified/undetermined1

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 2014Debris and open burning9.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
10 April 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined40 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
18 March 2015Debris and open burning10 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Washington County

Mines and quarries near this place

5 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Wellman: 5 past producers. 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
UnknownStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnknownStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnknownStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Wellman QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Whitstine QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every working recorded in Washington County

Storms near this place

35 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Wellman in 35 storm reports between 1997 and 2026: 9 thunderstorm wind, 9 hail, 8 flash flood, 8 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 2010Flash FloodWellman$1,000,000Heavy rains resulted in flash flooding in and around Wellman, IA during the morning of August 3. Major flooding was observed on Smith Creek on the south edge of town. County Road W 38 had to be closed due to the flood waters. Much of the town, including the fire station and water treatment plant, was under water. Some residences had 8 to 10 feet of water in their basements. Some water rescues were performed. The flood water was still about a foot deep in parts of town, especially near the fire station, during the late morning hours.
June 2010FloodWellman$500,000Heavy rains during the second and third weeks of June resulted in the English River at Kalona going above the moderate flood stage level of 16 feet on June 12 around 11 pm. It crested above the major flood stage around 19 feet around 7 pm June 15. It fell below the moderate flood stage on the evening of the 17th. It crested for a second time at 16.8 feet at 1 pm June 19. It fell below moderate flood stage the morning of June 20. It rose back above the moderate level on the 23rd, cresting at 17.4 feet at 1 am June 24. It finally fell and stayed below the moderate flood stage level around 2 am June 26.
May 2010FloodWellman$500,000Heavy rains during the second week of May resulted in the English River at Kalona going above the moderate flood stage level of 16 feet on May 13 around 330 am. It crested around 17.2 feet around 1 pm May 13. It fell below the moderate flood stage level around 130 pm May 15.
August 2010FloodWellman$500,000no account filed
August 2009FloodWellman$500,000no account filed
April 2013Flash FloodWellman$250,000Several rounds of heavy rain resulted in flash flooding across much of Washington County from the mid morning of April 17 through the early morning of April 18.
June 2011Flash FloodWellman$250,000Heavy rains resulted in flash flooding over much of the northern half of Washington County during the early morning of June 15. Highway 218 was closed in both directions near mile marker 74 due to water over the highway and vehicles in water in ditches. Several other county roads including Vine Ave, Ginkgo Ave south of Wellman, 12th Street in Washington, several underpasses in Washington, and 170th Street west of Riverside Rd were closed due to flooding. Some of the county roads were washed out.
June 2009FloodWellman$250,000Heavy rains during the middle of the month resulted in the English River at Kalona going above the moderate flood stage level of 16 feet on June 21st around 930 pm. It crested around 17.64 feet around 6 am on June 22. It fell below the moderate flood stage level around 930 pm June 22.
June 2008FloodWellman$198,000no account filed
August 2010Flash FloodWellman$100,000Heavy rains resulted in flash flooding of several streets in Washington, IA during the morning of August 10. Some cars were stalled out in the flood waters. In addition, several county roads were closed due to the flood waters. Many of the gravel roads were damaged or washed out.
June 2010Flash FloodWellman$100,000Heavy rains resulted in flash flooding in Wellman, IA and Kalona, IA during the morning of June 23. Streets and basements were flooded.
June 1997Thunderstorm WindWellman$20,000One home struck by several large trees.
May 2017Thunderstorm WindWellman$15,000The local law enforcement reported a roof was off a shed, a garage, and hog and horse structures. Another garage was torn off a house. Trees and power lines were down with one tree down on a road.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindWellman$5,000Wind gusts estimated to be 60 mph blew down some tree limbs and power lines in Wellman, IA at 948 am CDT May 29.
April 2026HailWellman-Public report relayed by law enforcement. The time was estimated from radar data.
May 2024Tornado (EF1)Wellman-A tornado developed southwest of Wellman in Washington County, and tracked quickly to the northeast along a patch through the Amish and Frytown areas in Johnson County. The tornado caused damage to homes, outbuildings, and trees. No injuries were reported. Thanks to Washington and Johnson County emergency management for assistance in completing the survey.
June 2021HailWellman-Hail reaching 1.5 in diameter was reported by the public through social media.
May 2019Flash FloodWellman-An IFC river gage near 338th Avenue, on the South English River rapidly rose over flood stage due to heavy heavy rain.
May 2017Thunderstorm WindWellman-The local law enforcement reported some outbuildings. A shed, and a few windows and roofs were damaged.
July 2017Thunderstorm WindWellman-A local state official reported a tree limb down and was laying across the road in Wellman.
May 2016Thunderstorm WindWellman-This was a delayed report. A large tree was downed at a farm near Elm Avenue and 135th street about 2 miles west southwest of Wellman. The tree fell onto a minivan.
June 2014Flash FloodWellman-A trained spotter reported Lower Deer Creek out of its banks and flowing over 540th Street. Rainfall for the day was more than 5 inches.
June 2014FloodWellman-Heavy rains during the second half of June resulted in the English River at Kalona going above the major flood stage level of 18 feet on June 30 around 955 pm CDT. It crested around 21.65 feet around 645 pm CDT July 2. It fell below the major flood stage level around 615 am CDT July 4.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindWellman-Trees were downed by strong thunderstorm wind gusts.
June 2007Flash FloodWellman-The Wellman fire station flooded and secondary (gravel) roads were washed out. Time is estimated.
May 2004HailWellman-On highway 22 west of Wellman
August 2002Thunderstorm WindWellman-Several large trees blown down, barn on 540th Street Southwest heavily damaged, and corn flattened in spots on Angle Road Southwest.
May 2023HailWellman-no account filed
June 2017HailWellman-no account filed
March 2017Thunderstorm WindWellman-no account filed
April 2014HailWellman-no account filed
April 2013FloodWellman-no account filed
May 2004HailWellman-no account filed
September 2000HailWellman-no account filed
September 2000HailWellman-no account filed

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.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Daytonville1.0 miles7
Wassonville (historical)2.9 miles7
Lexington4.9 miles7
Nira5.0 miles7
Kalona7.1 miles8
Richmond7.5 miles8
West Chester8.7 miles7
Titu13.3 miles7

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 WellmanAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q935461The 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 462787. 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.