Fontanelle was platted in 1855, by New York state native James C. Gibbs (1820–1907), who followed the arrival of a transient named Collins. In the summer of that year, Gibbs purchased lots on the northeast of the city square where he constructed a large log cabin. He brought his family there to live. Gibbs ran a hotel out of the log cabin briefly. He died in 1907, aged 86, and is buried with his wife, Phoebe, in Fontanelle Cemetery.
On August 23, 1871, Fontanelle was officially incorporated as a city.
D. M. Valentine purchased lots immediately to the west of Gibbs', thus becoming the second settler.
Passages that mention Fontanelle, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Adair County, Iowa, and its people1915 · page 122Read the page →
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On the 5th of August, 1896, Mr. Launder was united in marriage to Miss Alice A. Baker, of Fontanelle, who was for several years a teacher in the Fontanelle schools and at the time of her marriage resigned a position in the higli school at Emerson, Iowa. To them has been born a son, Charles Reid, a graduate of the Fontanelle high school of the class of 1915.
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History of Adair County, Iowa, and its people1915 · page 329Read the page →
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wise natives of that state. They made their way to Adair county, Iowa, in 1874, the father here devoting his attention to general agricultural pursuits throughout the remainder of his active business career. His last days were spent in honorable retirement at Fontanelle, where he passed away in September, 1906, at the age of sixty-nine years, his death being the occasion of deep and widesjoread regret throughout the community. His widow, who has now attained the age of seventy-six years, still makes her home in Fontanelle and enjoys an extensive and favorable acquaintance here. James Hemphill served for six months of the Civil war as a member
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Fontanelle, 1855 to 1971
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Between 563 and 869 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Fontanelle’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Places now gone
Fontanelle’s post office has been open since 1856.
Gone or out of use
Fontanellelocale
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Fontanelle’s history
What year was Fontanelle founded?
In 1855, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Fontanelle’s post office opened in 1856, and the census of 1880 counted 563 people here.
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 Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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