Map of Prairie City, Iowa

Prairie City is a city in Jasper County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,700 at the time of the 2020 census. It is twenty-two miles east of Des Moines.

Prairie City city overview:
Name:	Prairie City city
LSAD Code:	25
LSAD Description:	city (suffix)
State:	Iowa
County:	Jasper County
Elevation:	928 ft (283 m)
Total Area:	1.24 sq mi (3.22 km²)
Land Area:	1.24 sq mi (3.22 km²)
Water Area:	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km²)
Total Population:	1,700
Population Density:	1,368.76/sq mi (528.67/km²)
ZIP code:	50228
Area code:	515
FIPS code:	1964470
GNISfeature ID:	0460389
Website:	www.prairiecityiowa.us

Online Interactive Map

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Prairie City online map. Source: Basemap layers from Google Map, Open Street Map (OSM), Arcgisonline, Wmflabs. Boundary Data from Database of Global Administrative Areas.

Prairie City location map. Where is Prairie City city?

Prairie City location on the U.S. Map. Where is Prairie City city. — Prairie City location on the U.S. Map.

Prairie City location on the Iowa map. Where is Prairie City city. — Location of Prairie City in Iowa.

History

Prairie City was founded by James Elliott in 1856, for whom it was originally named; it was later changed because there was already a town named Elliott in the state. The first resident was William Means, who built a tavern 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Elliot’s cabin. The railroad first came through Prairie City in 1866. The first school in Prairie City was built on 1868(The Plainsmen) ; the city’s district remained independent until a merger with that of Monroe in 1990, brought about by the destruction by fire of Monroe’s high school. The new school district is called Prairie City-Monroe (“PCM”) Community School district, home of the PCM Mustangs.

Prairie City’s Historical Society was established in 1995. The Prairie City Historical Museum is located at 109 S. Main Street and open by appointment. Many artifacts from Prairie City’s history are housed in the museum including the Dowden Potato Digger, which was originally manufactured in Prairie City.

The city was the subject of Douglas Bauer’s popular reminiscence of change in small town Iowa from the 1950s through the 1970s, Prairie City, Iowa: Three Seasons at Home.