Primrose, Iowa

Unincorporated community in Iowa, United States

40°40′31.2522″N 91°38′17.412″W / 40.675347833°N 91.63817000°W / 40.675347833; -91.63817000CountryUnited StatesStateIowaCountyLeeElevation

709 ft (216 m)Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST)) • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)ZIP code

52625

Area code319GNIS feature ID460452

Primrose is an unincorporated community in Lee County, Iowa, United States.^[1]

Location

Primrose is located in Harrison Township, near the junction of Primrose Road and 150th Avenue, about 4.5 miles (7,200 meters) northwest of Donnellson.^[1]

History

Primrose was laid out by George W. Perkins and James H. Washburn in 1844. It was named Primrose by Minerva McCulloch, an early resident, after the wild roses that grew in the area. A post office was established in Primrose in 1845, with Exum McCulloch serving as the first postmaster.^[2]

Primrose had become well established by 1850. Most settlers of the town were German immigrants from Bavaria and Lower Saxony; sermons at the church were given in German until World War I. A two-story school was built in Primrose in 1850, which served 130 students at its peak. By 1868, Primrose contained blacksmith shops, coopers, doctors' offices, a mill, and several hotels and general stores.^[2]

Primrose's population was recorded at 178 in 1878, which had decreased to 150 in 1914. The post office closed in 1953. Today Primrose consists only of a few houses.^[2]^[3]

Notable people

Exum Sumner McCulloch (1812–1877), politician, represented Lee County in the Iowa General Assembly for many years^[4]
Richard Proenneke (1916–2003), naturalist, conservationist, and writer^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b "Primrose Populated Place Profile / Lee County, Iowa Data". Iowa Gazetteer. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Lee County IAGenWeb - Abandoned Village - Primrose". The IAGenWeb Project. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
^ "Lee County IAGenWeb - 1914 County History - Towns and Villages". The IAGenWeb Project. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
^ "Exum Sumner McCulloch". Iowa Legislature. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
^ Brinkhof, Tim (March 10, 2024). "Meet The Man Who Lived Alone In A Cabin In The Alaskan Wilderness — For 30 Years". All That's Interesting. Retrieved September 5, 2024.