Rodman, IA

Rodman is a Palo Alto County city that began with the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway's line through Fern Valley Township in 1881. A landowner named Rodman offered the railway an interest in his property if it would plat a town there, and the station and post office soon took his name. Hay barns, shipping, stores, and a creamery followed, giving the town a commercial role in the surrounding farm district. Rodman now sits within the West Bend-Mallard Community School District, linking its rail-era history to a shared rural school network.