Nearly Abandoned: These Three Eastern Iowa Cities Have Fewer Than 50 People

There are 99 counties in Iowa and over 940 cities. With a total population of around 3.2 million, we're bound to have some tiny... tiny towns in our state. Today I thought we'd look at three incorporated cities in Eastern Iowa with a population of under 50 residents!

Tiny towns in Eastern Iowa

When driving around your neck of the woods, think about this: the block you live on, plus maybe one or two neighboring blocks, is about the population of the tiny towns we'll be looking at. A block or two makes up most of the land area we'll be exploring.

Cotter, Iowa

Located in Louisa County, on the far central-eastern part of the state, Cotter was named after Margaret E. Cotter who laid out the town in 1878. At its populous peak in 1930, Cotter had a whole 108 residents. Today, it has about 39.

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Cotter is located on Iowa Highway 92.

Coppock, Iowa

Coppock is a tiny town with only 36 residents, yet it sits in three Iowa counties: Henry, Jefferson, and Washington. Believe it or not, it's a part of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The tiny town of Coppock has one business and, yes, it's a bar/restaurant called Eagles Nest. Coppock is located on the Skunk River and was founded in 1859 when John Coppock and Thomas Tucker built a grist mill and sawmill along the Skunk River. its population peaked in 1910 when the city had 105 residents.

Osterdock, Iowa

Our last town of under 50 in Eastern Iowa is Osterdock. Osterdock is located in the Northeastern county of Clayton and has approximately 43 residents, as of the 2020 United States Census Bureau survey.

The town hasn't been visited by the Google Maps car in some time, the below photo is from 2009...

Osterdock was founded in 1877 as a railroad town. Like so many other railroad towns, eventually it virtually evaporated with population (and job) decreases. it was, at its peak, a town of 103 in 1920.

Tiny Iowa towns

Iowa has many, many more cities with under 50 people, and some that are not even incorporated. It's fun to dig into the history of some of these that are nearly ghost towns and see what was once a more thriving populous.

While you're off adventuring through towns tiny or large, make an effort to check out these scenic sights!