Watkins, IA

Watkins is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in southeastern Benton County, Iowa, United States. The 2020 census counted 116 residents. Watkins lies along local roads south of Vinton, the county seat of Benton County. Its elevation is 830 feet above sea level. Taken together, these details give a newcomer a usable picture of Watkins, where its history, geography, and current gathering places meet. For Watkins, the memorable detail is the way older history and current gathering places share one local map. The community was named for John Burton Watkins who was the Superintendent of the Iowa Divisions of the Chicago & North Western Railway from 1870 until he was killed in a tragic railroad accident near there on 30 October 1873. Nearly the entire C&NW Rwy.