Gifford is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in southeastern Hardin County,

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, United States. The community was founded in 1875 and was the site of two railroad lines: the

Chicago & North Western Railroad The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

and the Iowa Central Railroad.

Geography

Gifford is south of the city of Eldora, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Hardin County. It is at the junction of County Roads D55 and S62 along the

Iowa River The Iowa River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the state of Iowa in the United States. It is about longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 13, 2011 and i ...

History

Gifford was laid out in 1875. It was named for C. T. Gifford, who was instrumental in bringing the railroad there. Three additions were made to Gifford in 1880: the Sheffield, Ankrum, and Peat Additions. By 1880, Gifford was at junction of two railroads: the

and the

Iowa Central Railroad Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. 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 A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

. 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. Gifford's population was 70 in 1900. Gifford's population was 150 in 1925, and was 200 in 1940. Although its post office is gone, Gifford has its own ZIP Code, 50259, even though the ZIP Code system was not implemented until nearly nine years after Gifford's post office was attached to Union's.The Two "Mr. ZIP Codes"
, Zip-Codes.com, 2008. Accessed 2008-06-11.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Hardin County, Iowa Unincorporated communities in Iowa Populated places established in 1875 1875 establishments in Iowa

Geography

History

See also

References