West Union, Iowa
12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1901 and the latest in 1984. It stands in West Union City. It lies in ZIP code area 52175. The Survey maps it on the West Union quadrangle. 2,490 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,188 feet above sea level.
On record in West Union
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 9 records
Fayette County Courthouselisted 1981
First Baptist Church of West Unionlisted 1999
Grimes Octagon Barnlisted 1986
Hobson Blocklisted 2008
Maple View Sanitariumlisted 1998
Mill Race Bridgelisted 1998
Vine Street Bridgelisted 1998
West Auburn Bridgelisted 1998- West Union Commercial Historic Districtlisted 2015
Population over time
2 figuresWest Union grew from 2,486 to 2,490 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 | 2,486 | |
| 2020 | 2,490 | +4 (+0%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 12 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.
- 1901 USGS Oelwein quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
- 1959 USGS Dubuque quadrangle1:250000
- 1961 USGS Dubuque quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Dubuque quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1976 USGS Dubuque quadrangle1:250000
- 1981 USGS West Union quadrangle1:24000
- 1984 USGS Oelwein quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
23 since 2006Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 23 fires within 5 miles of West Union between 2006 and 2019, burning about 287 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 | 11 |
| Debris and open burning | 10 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 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 May 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 9 April 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 140 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 7 April 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 6 April 2019 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 4 April 2015 | Debris and open burning | 4.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 3 April 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 24 April 2018 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 24 April 2018 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 10 workings within 5 miles of West Union: 6 past producers, 4 producers. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Barium-Barite, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crider Sand and Gravel | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Turner Creek Occurrence | Barium-Barite | Past Producer | Barite | |
| Carmichael Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Drewes Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Houg Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Landas Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Larson Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Pape Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Scott Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
33 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names West Union in 33 storm reports between 1997 and 2024: 18 thunderstorm wind, 12 hail, 1 tornado, 1 funnel cloud. The reports record 1 injury. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2001 | Tornado (F1) | West Union | 1 hurt, $40,000 | no account filed |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Union | $175,000 | Emergency management reported numerous trees and power lines down in Elgin. A tree had also fallen onto a home. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Union | $65,000 | A fifth wheel camper was picked up and turned upside down by straight line winds from a severe thunderstorm. The winds also partially removed the metal roof off a large machine shed. Golf ball sized hail also fell that broke the siding on a house. |
| May 1999 | Hail | West Union | $35,000 | no account filed |
| July 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Union | $20,000 | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Hail | West Union | $16,000 | no account filed |
| August 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Union | $15,000 | Trees and power lines were blown down in West Union. One tree landed on a garage causing some roof damage. |
| May 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Union | $15,000 | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Union | $14,000 | no account filed |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Union | $10,000 | A roof was blown off a building in West Union. |
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Union | $10,000 | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Union | $5,000 | Trees and power lines were blown down in West Union. |
| July 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Union | $5,000 | Trees were blown down at the Fayette County Courthouse and fairgrounds in West Union. |
| May 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Union | $5,000 | A barn near West Union was damaged by the wind gusts from a severe thunderstorm. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Union | $5,000 | Numerous trees and power lines were blown down across West Union. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Union | $3,000 | Some trees and power lines were blown down in West Union. |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Union | $1,500 | no account filed |
| August 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Union | $1,000 | Numerous tree branches were blown down just south of West Union. Some of the branches were up to 8 inches in diameter. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Union | $500 | no account filed |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Union | $200 | A large tree was blown down in West Union. |
| June 2017 | Heavy Rain | West Union | - | In West Union, 4.75 inches of rain fell. |
| August 2016 | Funnel Cloud | West Union | - | A funnel cloud was sighted near West Union. |
| April 2013 | Hail | West Union | - | Quarter sized hail fell in West Union. |
| July 2017 | Hail | West Union | - | no account filed |
| May 2015 | Hail | West Union | - | no account filed |
| July 2009 | Hail | West Union | - | no account filed |
| June 2009 | Hail | West Union | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Union | - | no account filed |
| April 2002 | Hail | West Union | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Hail | West Union | - | no account filed |
| August 2000 | Hail | West Union | - | no account filed |
| May 1999 | Hail | West Union | - | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Hail | West Union | - | 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.
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 Union | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q662047 | 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 462922. 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.






