Donnellson, IA

Donnellson is a Lee County city in southeast Iowa, with 885 residents in the 2020 census. The town grew around the Donnell family and the railroad: W. R. Donnell helped build the first depot-and-warehouse structure, then served as railroad agent, express agent, merchant, and postmaster. In 1871 a Burlington and Southwestern line reached Donnellson on its way between Fort Madison and Farmington. That line later became part of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy system and ran through town until 1969.

Today the former depot lives on as a historical museum, with Depot Park and its bandstand beside it. The Lee County Fair has held its Donnellson event site continuously since 1841 and calls itself Iowa’s oldest county fair, adding livestock, agriculture, and summer gatherings to the local calendar. Central Lee Community School District is headquartered here and serves nearby communities including Argyle and Montrose. Donnellson’s map still makes sense through those layers: a railroad town, a fairground town, a school town, and a Lee County crossroads with a library and museum on Main Street.