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West Chester, Iowa

7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1958 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Franklin Township. It lies in ZIP code area 52359. The Survey maps it on the West Chester quadrangle. 144 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 774 feet above sea level.

West Chester within Washington County

Population over time

2 figures

West Chester fell from 146 to 144 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
2010146
2020144-2 (-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.

Fires near this place

2 since 2010

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 2 fires within 5 miles of West Chester between 2010 and 2014, burning about 20 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 burning1
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
18 April 2014Debris and open burning15 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
17 April 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresIowa Department of Natural ResourcesWEST CENTRAL OF SECTION 10 OF DUTCH CREEK TWP, WAS

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Washington County

Mines and quarries near this place

4 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of West Chester: 2 producers, 2 past producers. 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
Duesenbury QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnknownStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
West Chester QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Young America Mine and MillStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer

Every working recorded in Washington County

Storms near this place

10 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names West Chester in 10 storm reports between 1999 and 2023: 5 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 1 flash flood, 1 tornado. 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
May 2017Thunderstorm WindWest Chester$3,000The local law enforcement reported extensive wind damage to trees, farm outbuildings, and one house and garage along Cedar Street for about 5 miles. Several hog confinement buildings lost parts of their roofs.
May 1999Thunderstorm WindWest Chester$1,000Severe thunderstorm winds downed tree branches onto the roofs of at least 2 houses.
March 2023Tornado (EF3)West Chester-Another large, violent tornado developed in eastern Keokuk County as the initial tornado was weakening southwest of Keota. The tornado tracked to the northeast, on the western fringe of Keota, and crossed into Washington County near the intersection of Keokuk-Washington Road and 180th St. The tornado then continued through northwest Washington county, extreme southeast Iowa County, and into far southwest Johnson County. The tornado severely damaged several homes near Keota, wiping one house completely off its foundation, resulting in EF-4 level damage. A car was lofted in the air and tossed about 1000 feet into a nearby field and trees were completely debarked with only stubs of the largest branches remaining. As the tornado tracked west of Wellman, Iowa it knocked over a 325 ft cell phone tower. The tornado moved into extreme southeast Iowa County near the intersection of Iowa-Washington Road and Ginkgo Ave., and then into far southwest Johnson County, about a third of a mile north of the intersection of Iowa-Washington Road and Johnson Iowa Road SW. The tornado was rated EF-4 in Keokuk County, EF-3 in Washington County, and EF-1 in Iowa and Johnson Counties.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindWest Chester-Widespread straight-line winds that produced extensive damage were reported throughout Washington County, associated with a derecho. These winds lasted around an hour in total at any one location, even though the initial line of storms moved out quickly. Damaging straight-line winds continued and were associated with the rear inflow jet. Maximum wind speeds were estimated to be 60 to 80 MPH. These estimates were determined based off damage reports and photos submitted through social media. The duration of strong winds caused extensive damage to some trees, powerlines, crops, and a few structures in their path. The widespread damage also resulted in long duration power outages.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindWest Chester-Power poles broken and crop damage reported through KCRG TV.
May 2013HailWest Chester-A trained spotter reported golf ball size hail near Ainsworth.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindWest Chester-Wind gusts estimated to be 60 mph were observed 6 miles west southwest of Washington, IA at 930 am CDT May 29.
June 2008Flash FloodWest Chester-Truck drivers reported flash flooding of Highway 92 just east of the Washington-Keokuk county line at 4:46 am and 5:08 am June 27. This report was relayed by law enforcement dispatch officials.
April 2001HailWest Chester-Penny sized hail reported by trained storm spotter.
April 2013HailWest Chester-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
Lexington4.1 miles7
Titu4.6 miles7
Grace Hill5.2 miles7
Washington7.2 miles7
Wellman8.7 miles7
Daytonville9.5 miles7
Eureka (historical)9.8 miles7
Richmond10.0 miles8

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 West ChesterAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2170551The 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 462835. 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.