Aplington, IA

Aplington is a Butler County city on State Highway 57 and the Canadian National rail line, with Beaver Creek along its northern side. The 2020 census counted 1,116 residents. Aplington-Parkersburg Community School District operates the Aplington Elementary/Middle School in town, while the high school is in Parkersburg; the Aplington Legion Memorial Library and city services add local institutions for everyday errands. The highway, rail line, creek, and school district place Aplington in the middle of a rural Butler County network.

ATTRTyler Silvest from Olathe, Kansas / CC BY 2.0

Aplington was laid out in 1857 and incorporated in 1877. The city was named for Zenas Aplington, an Illinois landowner who never visited the place but owned much of the land on which it was built. The shared school district came from the 2004 merger of the Aplington and Parkersburg districts, and its agricultural education program serves students from both communities and nearby farms. Aplington's current map combines a small city center with school, rail, highway, and farm connections stretching beyond its boundaries.