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

Half of Lake Panorama’s homes were built after 1992

Most of Lake Panorama was built recently: 0.3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Below: maps from 1952 on.

0on the National Register
0.3%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Mostly Iowa Edits · CC BY-SA 4.0

What stands out about Lake Panorama’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 Lake Panorama are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lake Panorama’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Lake Panorama, in brief

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

Lake Panorama is a census-designated place located in Cass Township and Victory Township in Guthrie County, Iowa, United States. In the 2020 census the population was 1266. It is located in east-central Guthrie County and is bordered to the southeast by the city of Panora. The CDP is a residential community on both sides of Lake Panorama, a reservoir constructed on the Middle Raccoon River. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Lake Panorama CDP has a total area of 8.3 square miles (21.5 km2), of which 6.6 square miles (17.1 km2) are land, and 1.7 square miles (4.3 km2), or 20.19%, are within Lake Panorama, the water body.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,309 to 1,266 (-3%).

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

By decade

Lake Panorama, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Lake Panorama Iowa2025Lake Panorama IowaLake Panorama Iowa Catholic Youth Camp2025Lake Panorama Iowa Catholic Youth Camp
On the map

Lake Panorama on the map, 1952 to 1982

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

Lake Panorama on the 1952 USGS mapLake Panorama 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 Lake Panorama.

Famous people

Famous people close to Lake Panorama

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

See all →
George GallupAmerican statistician · b. 1901
Loren ShriverAmerican astronaut · b. 1944
James EllisonAmerican actor · b. 1910
George A. WilsonAmerican politician · b. 1884
E
Eugenie AndersonAmerican diplomat · b. 1909
Tom FaddenAmerican actor · b. 1895
Places that used to be

Old burying grounds

3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lake Panorama
BrethrenVandevanterWest

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

PanoraIts storyB−

Questions about Lake Panorama’s history

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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 Wikimedia Commons (2), 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.