Panama, IA

Panama is a city in Shelby County, Iowa, United States. The 2020 census counted 235 residents. Panama had its start in the year 1882 by the building of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway through Washington Township. The community is on Iowa Highway 191, halfway between U.S. Routes 30 and 59. The district serves the towns of Harlan, Defiance, Earling, Panama, Portsmouth and Westphalia, the unincorporated communities of Jacksonville and Corley, and the surrounding rural areas. In Panama, history and present-day settings sit close enough to belong to the same local picture. The map tells the story in Panama, where earlier chapters remain visible in current streets, buildings, and gathering places.