Amund, Iowa

Unincorporated community in Iowa, United States

43°28′24″N 93°47′36″W / 43.47333°N 93.79333°W / 43.47333; -93.79333CountryUnited StatesStateIowaCountyWinnebagoElevation

1,240 ft (380 m)Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST)) • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)Area code641GNIS feature ID464046^[1]

Amund was a rural unincorporated community in Eden Township, Winnebago County, Iowa, United States.^[1] Founded in the late 1800s, the community was considered prosperous in the early 20th century, but the population remained small. By the 1970s, the town was one of 11 abandoned communities in Winnebago County.

Geography

Amund is located along county highways A16 and R34.^[2] The community is in Eden Township northwest of the Good Neighbors Marsh Wildlife Management Area.^[3] The community was in the northwest corner of section 22 of Eden Township.^[4]

History

A post office operated in Amund from 1888 to 1907.^[5]^[6] The community was named for postmaster Amund A. Fosness, who came to the US from Norway in 1867, and settled in Iowa.^[7] It had a skimming station, store, and blacksmith shop, among other similar concerns. The community was reported by the Forest City Summit to be prosperous, and there were plans for a religious periodical to be published in the community. A school was located a mile north of the store.^[8]^[9]

Amund's milk station used large volume separators to skim off cream, and was consolidated into the Thompson Cooperative Creamery in 1897.^[10]

Amund's population, in 1902, was 22.^[11]

The community was meant to serve the farming area, and the lack of a railroad led to its dissolution. The local Forest City Summit newspaper reported in 1955 that the former location was still known as Amund corner. It noted that early settlers remembered Fourth of July celebrations at Amund with baseball games and bowery dances.^[12]

In 1976, the Mason City Globe-Gazette named Amund among the eleven abandoned towns in Winnebago County, the others being Benson Grove, Deering, Delano, Grytte, Hollandale, Mount Valley, Norman, Ratna, Steen, and Tweeten.^[13]

References

^ ^a ^b "Amund, Iowa". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
^ "Iowa Department of Transportation-Winnebago" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on April 28, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
^ Iowa Atlas and Gazetteer. Yarmouth, ME: Garmin, Ltd. 2021. p. 18.
^ Hawkeye Heritage. Iowa Genealogical Society. 1978. p. 176. Archived from the original on February 12, 2024. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
^ "Amund Post Office (historical)". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
^ (3 April 1907). Amund Office May Close Archived May 26, 2021, at the Wayback Machine, Forest City Summit
^ "Norway in America - Iowa". slettebo.no. Archived from the original on November 29, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
^ (27 November 1980). Early post offices dotted Winnebago County Archived May 26, 2021, at the Wayback Machine, The Forest City Summit, p. A-13
^ (3 March 1897). Amund is Prosperous Archived May 26, 2021, at the Wayback Machine, Winnebago Summit
^ Centennial Book Committee (1992). A peek at the past ... Thompson, Iowa, 1892-1992. A good place to call home. pp. 17–18.
^ Cram's Modern Atlas: The New Unrivaled New Census Edition. J. R. Gray & Company. 1902. pp. 203–207. Archived from the original on February 12, 2024. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
^ (28 July 1955). Ancestors Retain Eden Farms Archived May 26, 2021, at the Wayback Machine, Forest City Summit
^ "Eleven Fewer". Globe-Gazette. Mason City, IA. June 1, 1976. pp. C-31. Archived from the original on February 12, 2024. Retrieved February 11, 2024.