Abandoned Towns Ambrosia Montrose Twp. Road dividing Sec. 7,8, and 17,18. A post office from 1840 to 1857 . Atlee/Edwards West Point Twp. Sec. 12. The name of a railroad station, it was later changed to Edwards. Ballenger Montrose Twp. Sec. 36. Also known as Ballenger's Siding and Ballenger's Switch. Settlement of cabins along the bank of the Mississippi River. In the 1870's timber and tin shacks were the homes of approximately 500 men who worked on the construction of the canal to bypass the rapids on the Mississippi River. Beck Twp. Sec. Belfast Van Buren Twp. Sec. 2 Benbow Washington Twp. Sec. 7. A Railroad Station. Big Mound Cedar Twp. At common corners of Sec 19,20,29 and 30. Post Office 1852-1903. Bluff Park Montrose Twp. Sec. A community of summer homes overlooking the Mississippi River. Bluffs Siding Twp. Sec. Bricker Buena Vista Twp. Sec. Bullards Station Jefferson Twp. Sec 11 Camargo Des Moines Twp. Sec. 20. The name of the post office of Vincennes from 1852 to 1858 at the village and railway station of Sand Prairie. Camackville Cedar Twp. Sec. 12. A post office from 1869-1875 when it was changed to White Lane. Post office was discontinued in 1876. Clays Grove Marion Twp. Sec. 29. A post office from 1857-1863, and again from 1868-1892. Connable Des MoinesTwp. Sec. 1 Connables took over the railway station after the tracks were moved. Therefore the name. Had previouly been Melrose. Cottonwood Cedar Twp. Sec 10. Courtwright/Mt Hamill Cedar Twp. Sec. 25. The name of the post office for a few months in 1881, change to Hamill and at present Mt Hamil Croton Van Buren Twp Doantown Cedar Twp. Sec. 15. Another name for Russelville. Dover Franklin Twp. Sec. 8. Was formally Tuscarora, a post office was formed there in 1840, by 1853 the name was changed. Edwards See Atlee Franklin Center Franklin Twp. Sec 23 and 26. Town was laid out in 1840 and was intended for the county seat. Its post office, Franklin Center, was from 1843 to 1883 when it was changed to Franklin. It then ran until 1920. Galland Montrose Twp. Sec. 24. First school in Iowa here. Green Bay Green Bay Twp. Sec. 9. A post office for a few months in 1851 and again from 1854 to 1859. Hazen Washington Twp. Sec. 17. A railway station. Hinsdale Des Moines Twp. Sec. 24. Jeffersonville Jefferson Twp. Sec. 16. A village on the railway. It was laid out in 1867, but failed to build up due to its close proximity to Viele. The post office established before the village was platted, ran from 1856 with the exception of two short intermissions, until 1876. Jollyville Green Bay Twp La Crew Parts of Franklin and Madison Twp. Sec Madison Martensville Twp. Sec. Madison Twp. In 1836 the town now known as Ft. Madison was called Madison Meirotto Marion Twp. Sec. 25. A village and railroad station. Melrose Des Moines Twp. Sec. 1. A railway station. The railroad was relocated and the station was taken over by Connables. Monterey Montrose Twp. Sec. Found on a 1857 map between Nashville and Keokuk, on the railroad. Messingerville Jackson Twp. Mount Clara Twp. Sec. Nashville Montrose Twp. Sec. 24. The former name of Galland. Nashville was laid out in 1841. It had a post office for part of the year 1843, but it was discontinued. Overton/Pilot Grove Marion Twp. Sec. 22 The former name of the railroad station and post office of Pilot Grove. Pitman Prairie House Charleston Twp. Sec. 22. The name of the railway station, and post office from 1843 to 1850 when the name was changed to Charleston. Russelville/Doantown Cedar Twp. Sec 15. Town was laid out in 1858. Also called Doantown. Saint Paul Sand Prairie Twp. Sec. Sawyer Washington Twp. Sec. 7. Shopton South Augusta Denmark Twp. Sec. 25. A village on the south side of the Des Moines River oppisite the town of Augusta. It was surveyed in 1842, but no permanent town developed. South Franklin Franklin Twp. Sec. 35. The former name of the railway station near Franklin. String Prairie Des Moines Twp. Sec, 15. A post office indicated on maps of 1854. Sugar Creek Montrose Twp. Sec. 30 and Des Moines Twp. Sec. 25. The first Swedish settlement in Lee County, Tuscarora Franklin Twp. Sec. 8. A post office was established here in 1840. In 1853 the name was changed to Dover. Van Buren Van Buren Twp. Sec The name first given to the post office established at Warren, the railroad station in Sec 36, Harrison Twp. This was from January to December, 1849. Viele Jefferson Twp. Sec. 10. This town was never platted. It was named for Phillip Viele, a pioneer Ft. Madison lawyer. In 1868 Daniel Weise was appointed the first Postmaster. The post office closed in 1911. Warren Harrison Twp. Sec. 36 White Lane/Camackville The name of a post office formerly called Camackville, which see above. It was located at White's Iowa Intitute of Manual Labor, Sec. 14, Cedar Twp. Yeargerville Charleston Twp. Sec. A former station on the old Keokuk and Northwestern Railroad Westcott Wilcox Zarahemla The name of the plat of a projected pioneer town somewhere in Lee County Communities Still Populated Charleston Charles Twp. Sec. 22. Croton Van Buren Twp. Sec. 20. Laid out July 3, 1849 it lays along the Des Moines River. Across the river is Athens, Missouri where the Northern most Civil Battle occurred. This was on August 2, 1861. Amos Glover, a Rev War solider, lies in the Croton cemetery. Franklin Franklin Twp. Sec. 26. Laid out in 1840. The town almost became the County Seat since it is located almost in the center of the county. Many stone homes, from a nearby quarry, are still being used today. A German settlement. Mooar Jackson Twp. Sec. 9. Originally a railway station. During the WW I a settlement built up around the "Powder Works." Explosives were made there. It is now referred to as either Powder Works or Mooar. Mt Hamil Cedar Twp. Sec. 25. New Boston Charles Twp. Sec. 35 Primrose Harrison Twp. Sec. 23. Laid out by Geo. Perkins, a Rev. War soldier, about 1838. It was named by the wife of the first postmaster, Exum McCulloch, for the wild flowers that grew in abundance. Primrose thrived for awhile, but then the railroad never came through as planned. Settled mostly by Germans from the Northern part, or from Baveria. There were also Quakers and Mennonites. Sandusky Montrose Twp. Sec. 36 A small village on the Mississippi River at the mouth of Lemoliese Creek. This name came from a Frenchman who established a trading post there in 1820. A post office was established in 1861-1905. Sandusky was a trading point of some importance for many years. There was a canning factory and in the early to mid 1900's Sandusky was known for its strawberry growing and shipping. St Paul Marion Twp. Sec. 23 Summitville Montrose Twp. Parts of Sec. 23 The name appears to be locally discriptive as it is on rising ground along the ridge road. The post office was established in 1847 and discontinued in 1919. Besides the post office there was a school, a general store and a Christian and Presbyterian Church. Vincennes Des Moines Twp. Sec. 20         Towns with U. S. Postal Service Argyle Des Moines Twp. Sec. 8-9 Denmark Denmark Twp. Sec. 29. Donnellson Parts of Charles Twp. Sec. 4-5 Franklin Twp. Sec. 32-33 Ft Madison Madison Twp. One of two County Seats in Lee County. Houghton Cedar Twp. Sec. 13 Keokuk Jackson Twp. Sec. One of two County Seats Montrose Montrose Twp. Sec. 16 Pilot Grove Marion Twp. Sec. 22 West Point West Point Twp. Sec. 5 Wever Green Bay Twp. Parts of Sec.5 Thanks to Erma Derosear and Betty Haas for help with this page