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Diamondhead Lake IowaPhoto: Mostly Iowa Edits · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Diamondhead Lake

Half of Diamondhead Lake’s homes were built after 1975

Most of Diamondhead Lake was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: maps from 1952 on.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Mostly Iowa Edits · CC BY-SA 4.0

What stands out about Diamondhead Lake’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Diamondhead Lake are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Diamondhead Lake’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Diamondhead Lake’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Diamondhead Lake, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Diamondhead Lake yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Diamondhead Lake is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Penn Township, Guthrie County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 371. The CDP consists of a residential community that surrounds Diamondhead Lake, an artificial impoundment just south of the South Raccoon River. The community is located in the southeast corner of Guthrie County, 4 miles (6 km) northwest of Dexter and 6 miles (10 km) northeast of Stuart. It is 38 miles (61 km) west of Des Moines. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 0.77 square miles (2.0 km2), of which 0.62 square miles (1.6 km2) are land and 0.15 square miles (0.4 km2), or 20.31%, are the w…

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 366 in 2010, 371 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Diamondhead Lake on the map, 1952 to 1982

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Diamondhead Lake. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Diamondhead Lake on the 1952 USGS mapDiamondhead Lake on the 1982 USGS map1952Panora sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Diamondhead Lake.

Famous people

Famous people close to Diamondhead Lake

Nobody well known was born in Diamondhead Lake itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

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John WayneAmerican actor · b. 1907
P
Peter HedgesAmerican novelist, screenwriter, film director · b. 1962
James EllisonAmerican actor · b. 1910
Bob FellerMajor League Baseball player · b. 1918
Glenn L. MartinAviation pioneer · b. 1886
D
David YoungAmerican politician in Iowa · b. 1968

Questions about Diamondhead Lake’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.