Map of Story City

Story City is a city in Story County, Iowa. It is located within the Ames, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area which envelops the entirety of Story County and combined with the Boone, Iowa Micropolitan Statistical Area makes up the larger Ames-Boone, Iowa Combined Statistical Area. The population was 3,352 in the 2020 census, a slight increase from 3,228 in 2000.

Story City city overview:
Name:	Story City city
LSAD Code:	25
LSAD Description:	city (suffix)
State:	Iowa
County:	Story County
Incorporated:	December 12, 1881
Elevation:	1,001 ft (305 m)
Total Area:	2.86 sq mi (7.40 km²)
Land Area:	2.86 sq mi (7.40 km²)
Water Area:	0.00 sq mi (0.01 km²)
Total Population:	3,352
Population Density:	1,173.67/sq mi (453.15/km²)
ZIP code:	50248
Area code:	515
FIPS code:	1975675
GNISfeature ID:	0462019
Website:	cityofstorycity.org

Online Interactive Map

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

Story City location map. Where is Story City city?

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

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

History

Story City was known as Fairview throughout much of its early history. The named changed in 1881 when the town established a post office and discovered that the Fairview name was already in use for another town. Story City was renamed after Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story. The boundaries of “Old Fairview” are outlined by signs during Scandinavian Days, and is approximately in the northeast corner of current Story City with the southern boundary being Broad Street.

Story City was laid out including Fairview in 1878, and officially incorporated in 1881. The railroad arrived in 1878 and connected the city to Ames by the narrow-gauge Des Moines & Minnesota and to Des Moines via the Chicago and North Western Railroad in Ames.

The city has deep historic and cultural ties to the Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Sweden, and mostly Norway. A large contingent of the city’s current population is descended from a major immigration of people from Nordic countries in the 1840s through 1860s. It is evident in the large number of Lutheran churches in the community with ministers historically delivering sermons in different languages (Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian) respective of the makeup of their congregations.