View text source at Wikipedia

Gifford, Iowa

Gifford, Iowa
Unincorporated community
Gifford is located in Iowa
Gifford
Gifford
Location within the state of Iowa
Gifford is located in the United States
Gifford
Gifford
Gifford (the United States)
Coordinates: 42°17′18″N 93°5′26″W / 42.28833°N 93.09056°W / 42.28833; -93.09056
CountryUnited States
StateIowa
CountyHardin
Elevation
945 ft (288 m)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
GNIS feature ID456897

Gifford is an unincorporated community in southeastern Hardin County, Iowa, United States.

The community was founded in 1875 and was the site of two railroad lines: the Chicago & North Western Railroad and the Iowa Central Railroad.

Geography

[edit]

Gifford is south of the city of Eldora, the county seat of Hardin County.[1] It is at the junction of County Roads D55 and S62 along the Iowa River.[2]

Its elevation is 945 feet (288 m).[3]

History

[edit]
1892 Plat map of Gifford, Iowa

Gifford was laid out in 1875.[4] It was named for C. T. Gifford, who was instrumental in bringing the railroad there.[5] Three additions were made to Gifford in 1880: the Sheffield, Ankrum, and Peat Additions.

By 1880, Gifford was at junction of two railroads:[6] the Chicago & North Western Railroad and the Iowa Central Railroad.[7] In 1883, Gifford was the site of three general stores, two hotels, one butcher, one drug store, one pottery manufacturer, and one hardware store. It was also the site of the First Baptist Church of Gifford (organized in 1881), the Union Sabbath School (with 70 pupils), and a Masonic Lodge.[8]

Gifford's post office was established on November 9, 1875, and was discontinued on February 28, 1907. Although the post office was reopened on February 17, 1908, it was again discontinued on October 31, 1954, and attached to the Union post office.[9]

Gifford's population was 70 in 1900.[10]

Gifford's population was 150 in 1925,[11] and was 200 in 1940.[12]

Although its post office is gone, Gifford has its own ZIP Code, 50259,[13] even though the ZIP Code system was not implemented until nearly nine years after Gifford's post office was attached to Union's.[14]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Rand McNally. The Road Atlas '08. Chicago: Rand McNally, 2008, p. 38-39.
  2. ^ Iowa Atlas and Gazetteer. Yarmouth, ME: Garmin, Ltd. 2021. p. 40.
  3. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Gifford, Iowa, Geographic Names Information System, 1979-04-30.
  4. ^ History of Hardin County, Iowa. Union Publishing Company. 1883. p. 964.
  5. ^ Chicago and North Western Railway Company (1908). A History of the Origin of the Place Names Connected with the Chicago & North Western and Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railways. p. 77.
  6. ^ Moir, William J. (1911). Past and Present of Hardin County, Iowa. Unigraphic. p. 356.
  7. ^ "Plat Book of Hardin County, Iowa - Gifford; Quebec". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Archived from the original on January 23, 2024. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  8. ^ History of Hardin County, Iowa, Together with Sketches of Its Towns, Villages and Townships, Educational, Civil, Military and Political History; Portraits of Prominent Persons, and Biographies of Representative Citizens: History of Iowa, Embracing Accounts of the Prehistoric Races, and a Brief Review of Its Civil, Political and Military History. Union Publishing Company. 1883. pp. 964–965. Archived from the original on January 23, 2024. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  9. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Gifford, Iowa, Geographic Names Information System, 2003-09-16. Accessed 2008-06-11.
  10. ^ Cram's Modern Atlas: The New Unrivaled New Census Edition. J. R. Gray & Company. 1902. pp. 203–207. Archived from the original on December 29, 2023. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  11. ^ Premier Atlas of the World: Containing Maps of All Countries of the World, with the Most Recent Boundary Decisions, and Maps of All the States, Territories, and Possessions of the United States with Population Figures from the Latest Official Census Reports, Also Data of Interest Concerning International and Domestic Political Questions. Rand McNally & Company. 1925. p. 189. Archived from the original on December 29, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  12. ^ The Attorneys List. United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company, Attorney List Department. 1940. p. 300. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  13. ^ "Zip Code Lookup". Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. Retrieved June 11, 2008.
  14. ^ The Two "Mr. ZIP Codes" Archived May 13, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Zip-Codes.com, 2008. Accessed 2008-06-11.