The Untold Story Of The Iowa City That Vanished Practically Overnight
Iowa’s plains have been the victim of flood after flood over the years, and occasionally, these floods cause widespread destruction. One particularly bad natural disaster led to the destruction of an entire town. Read below to see the story of Elkport, the tiny Iowa city that vanished practically overnight.
Elkport is a tiny town in Iowa that sits between the Volga and Turkey Rivers. Though it was once a thriving community, it has since been all but abandoned.
In the early 2000s, the tiny town of less than one square mile was inhabited by almost 100 residents. There was a church, a schoolhouse, a bank, and a town hall to serve its citizens.
Sadly, the devastating floods of May 2004 tore through this town, leaving widespread destruction everywhere. The residents all agreed to a federal buyout of their homes, rather than to rebuild, and their community became a ghost town in Iowa practically overnight.
More than two years later, the homes, church, schoolhouse, and bank were all marked for demolition. You could still see the high water mark on many of the structures.
The eeriest thing about Elkport before it was demolished was how everything seems to have been abandoned all at once. There were still shavings in the pencil sharpener in the schoolhouse, and the classrooms looked like they had been left in a hurry.
Remarkably, one of the buildings that escaped tremendous damage was the Church. Though the basement was destroyed, some of the artifacts from the main floor were able to be salvaged.
Today, only a couple of buildings remain, and the town is home to a small handful of families. At last count, the population of this ghost town in Iowa hovered around 35.
Today, almost every building that was damaged and abandoned has been razed and removed, leaving nothing but old photos to keep memories of Elkport in our minds. Do you remember the destructive floods of 2004? If you lived in Iowa at the time, they’re certainly hard to forget.
Kim Magaraci graduated Rutgers University with a degree in Geography and has spent the last seven years as a freelance travel writer. Contact: kmagaraci@onlyinyourstate.com
