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Iowa Colony, Texas

11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1943 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Angleton census division. It lies in ZIP code area 77583. The Survey maps it on the Juliff quadrangle. 8,154 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 59 feet above sea level.

Iowa Colony within Brazoria County

Population over time

2 figures

Iowa Colony grew from 1,170 to 8,154 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
20101,170
20208,154+6,984 (+597%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 11 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

79 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 79 fires within 5 miles of Iowa Colony between 2005 and 2015, burning about 176 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 3 were 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 burning38
Missing data/not specified/undetermined16
Equipment and vehicle use7
Power generation/transmission/distribution4
Arson/incendiarism3
Misuse of fire by a minor3
Smoking3
Natural2
Recreation and ceremony2
Railroad operations and maintenance1

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
9 September 2013Recreation and ceremony1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceILLEGAL BURN
9 September 2011Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceGRASS FIRE
6 September 2008Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
24 September 2008Debris and open burning1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
23 September 2015Debris and open burning1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceCAMBRIDGE
2 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceGRASS FIRE
18 September 2008Debris and open burning1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
13 September 2013Debris and open burning1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceGRASS FIRE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Brazoria 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 Iowa Colony: 1 occurrence. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Halite. 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
Manvell Salt DomeHaliteOccurrence1929

Every working recorded in Brazoria County

Storms near this place

24 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Iowa Colony in 24 storm reports between 1999 and 2026: 11 hail, 6 thunderstorm wind, 3 lightning, 2 tornado. The reports record 3 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 2019LightningIowa Colony3 hurtThree construction workers were injured after the home they were working on was struck by lightning. The victims were in the garage when lightning strike occurred.
August 2017Tornado (EF1)Iowa Colony$500,000An EF-1 tornado touched down southeast of Juliff and tracked from Brazoria into Fort Bend County. Damage occurred to some roofs Several trees there were either snapped or downed. Damage path crossed county line from Brazoria to Fort Bend County. This entry is for the Brazoria County segment.
May 1999Thunderstorm WindIowa Colony$50,000High winds damaged water well system in Iowa Colony
April 2014LightningIowa Colony$15,000A lightning strike caused a fire at a two story residential home.
August 2013Thunderstorm WindIowa Colony$10,000A severe thunderstorm downed trees around the Manvel area near Highway 288.
December 2002HailIowa Colony$5,0003/4 inch hail.
May 2018Thunderstorm WindIowa Colony$3,000Power lines, road signs and trees were downed near the intersection of SH 288 and Broadway Street.
October 2003Tornado (F0)Iowa Colony$2,000Tornado caused damage to a barn.
April 2014LightningIowa Colony$1,000A lightning strike set a palm tree on fire.
April 2026HailIowa Colony-A news station published a story sharing information regarding damage to schools in Alvin. The story mentioned that Alvin ISD superintendent had reported roof damage to Wilder Elementary School, likely caused by a robust hailstorm that moved over the school. Leaks in the roof caused water damage, resulting in the school closing in the final days of the 2026 school year. Time estimated from radar.
April 2026HailIowa Colony-A news station published a story sharing information regarding damage to schools in Alvin. The story mentioned that Alvin ISD superintendent reported roof damage to Mary Marek Elementary School, likely caused by a robust hailstorm that moved over the school. Leaks in the roof caused water damage, resulting in the school closing in the final days of the 2026 school year. Time estimated from radar.
May 2025HailIowa Colony-A relative of an NWS employee reported quarter size hail.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindIowa Colony-Trees were downed by strong thunderstorm wind gusts.
February 2019HailIowa Colony-Quarter sized hail was reported.
August 2017Flash FloodIowa Colony-Sections of FM 521 near FM 1462 in the Rosharon area were closed due to flooding.||Major record flooding of the Brazos, San Bernard and Oyster Creek caused the flooding of hundreds to thousands of vicinity homes, vehicles and businesses. Numerous Roads and homes were inundated with flood waters on east side of Oyster Creek including the Columbia Lakes, Mallard Lakes, Great Lakes, Riverside Estates and Bar X subdivisions as well as homes along CR 39. Other county roads that became impassable due to high flood waters include, but are not limited to, FM 1462, Highways 35 and 90, FM 950, CR 25, 380A, CR 42 and FM 521. The Phillips refinery outside of the town of Sweeny took on water from the west near Little Linville Bayou. Hanson Riverside County Park along the San Bernard River southwest of West Columbia was inundated and water over-topped the Phillips Terminal.
August 2017Flash FloodIowa Colony-There were numerous water rescues within the county; from Pearland down to the Angleton-Lake Jackson area. Flash flood waters, from sheet flooding and bayous/creeks coming out of banks, completely inundated hundreds to thousands of homes and businesses. Roads and highways in and along the Highway 288 corridor were flooded and therefore closed for long time periods.||Major record flooding of the Brazos, San Bernard and Oyster Creek caused the flooding of hundreds to thousands of vicinity homes, vehicles and businesses. Numerous Roads and homes were inundated with flood waters on east side of Oyster Creek including the Columbia Lakes, Mallard Lakes, Great Lakes, Riverside Estates and Bar X subdivisions as well as homes along CR 39. Other county roads that became impassable due to high flood waters include, but are not limited to, FM 1462, Highways 35 and 90, FM 950, CR 25, 380A, CR 42 and FM 521. The Phillips refinery outside of the town of Sweeny took on water from the west near Little Linville Bayou. Hanson Riverside County Park along the San Bernard River southwest of West Columbia was inundated and water over-topped the Phillips Terminal.
May 2016Thunderstorm WindIowa Colony-Thunderstorm winds downed trees on Iowa Lane just south of Highway 6.
April 2015HailIowa Colony-Nickel sized hail was reported near the intersection of FM 521 and FM 2234.
April 2015HailIowa Colony-Quarter sized hail was reported near the intersection of FM 518 and Kirby Drive.
April 2015Thunderstorm WindIowa Colony-Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated around 72 mph were observed.
April 2015HailIowa Colony-Quarter sized hail was observed south of Iowa Colony.
June 2013HailIowa Colony-The hail was reported at the intersection of Highway 288 and FM Road 101.
April 2013HailIowa Colony-A severe thunderstorm produced quarter sized hail along Highway 6 between Fresno and Manvel.
June 2011HailIowa Colony-Golf ball size hail fell near the intersection of State Highway 288 and State Highway 6.

Every storm recorded in Brazoria 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
Manvel3.3 miles10
Sedgewood4.6 miles13
Fairway Village4.7 miles13
Waterbury4.9 miles13
Southwyck5.1 miles13
Lakepointe5.2 miles13
Meadowview5.4 miles13
West Lea6.1 miles13

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 Iowa ColonyAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q607918The 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 1378484. 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.