Astor, Iowa

Astor, Iowa
unincorporated community
Astor, Iowa
Coordinates: 41°52′12″N95°16′00″W / 41.87000°N 95.26667°W / 41.87000; -95.26667
Country	United States
State	Iowa
County	Crawford County
Platted	1882
Elevation [1]	1,299 ft (396 m)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
GNIS feature ID	464452 [1]

Astor was an unincorporated community in Crawford County, in the U.S. state of Iowa.

Geography

Astor was located in Nishnabotny Township on county road M38 where that road crosses the present-day BNSF Railway line. ^[2]

History

Plat map of Astor, Iowa, in 1908

Astor was platted on the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St Paul Railroad in 1882 by Alexander Liedlum. Astor had a Methodist church, a school, a grain elevator, and a general store which also served as the post office. The town grew quickly, but railroad officials set the junction of the rail line two miles northeast, to nearby Manilla. Many residents in Astor then moved their houses to Manilla, pulling them on horse-drawn skids. The community was slowly abandoned. ^[3]

In the 1880s, a church and parsonage were built in Aster. The church was moved to nearby Manilla around 1887. ^[4]

Even after several years of decline, in 1911 Astor was said to have maintained its identity as "a pleasant little village" and had a "good store, good school, and a post office." ^[4]

The community's population was 150 in 1890, ^[5] 22 in 1900, ^[6] and 42 in 1920. ^[7] The population of Astor was 28 in 1940. ^[8]

The town's people realized the opportunities for growth at this junction and moved in large part to the newly platted town. The resulting community became known as Manilla. Business buildings, homes, and the Methodist Church were moved cross-county by pulling them on skids behind teams of horses. Astor was left almost abandoned. ^[9]

See also

• Iowa portal

• Old Kiron, Iowa

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Astor, Iowa
2. Iowa Atlas and Gazetteer. Yarmouth, ME: Garmin, Ltd. 2021. p. 36.
3. Prince, Norm (2014). "Crawford County, Iowa, History". iagenweb.org. Archived from the original on September 28, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
4. Meyers, F. W. (1911). History of Crawford County, Iowa: A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement. S. J. Clarke publishing Company. pp. 268, 473. Archived from the original on January 8, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
5. Cram, George Franklin (1887). Cram's Universal Atlas: Geographical, Astronomical and Historical, Containing a Complete Series of Maps of Modern Geography, Illustrated by Numerous Views and Charts; the Whole Supplemented with Valuable Statistics, Diagrams, and a Complete Gazetteer of the United States. G.F. Cram. pp. 367–369. Archived from the original on July 8, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
6. 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 September 28, 2022.
7. 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. pp. 188–190. Archived from the original on December 29, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
8. The Attorneys List. United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company, Attorney List Department. 1940. p. 292. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
9. Prince, Norm (2014). "Crawford County, Iowa, History". Archived from the original on September 28, 2022. Retrieved November 6, 2024.