Portsmouth, IA

Established in 1882• population 225

"The Biggest Little Town in the USA"

Location

    In Shelby County, Iowa, located at the intersection of Hwys 191 and 44  in the heart of southwest Iowa’s picturesque countryside.Utility & Telecommunication providers

    Water:  Shelby County Rural Water.

    Gas:  MidAmerican Energy Co.

    Electricity: MidAmerican Energy Co.

    Phone Service: Iowa Telecom offers paging, voice mail, calling cards along with 100% digitally switched calling is provided. They also offers free custom calling features such as call forwarding, call waiting, speed dialing, three‑way calling and equal access for all long distance calling.

    Internet Service: Farmers Mutual provides 56kbs & DSL from 128 kps to 8 mbs.

    Cable Service: none.

    Cellular Service: Cellular One, Verizon & FMCTC wireless.

Municipal Services

    Council/Mayor government

    Comprehensive city plan: yes

    City Zoning ordinance in effect: yes

    County Zoning ordinance in effect:  yes

    Subdivision ordinance with design standards in effect: no

    Number of volunteer fire department personnel: 30

    Fire insurance class in city: 8   

    Fire insurance class outside city: 9

    Police Protection: Shelby County Sheriff's Department

    Industrial waste pickup service: yes

    Percentage of city streets hard surfaced: 100%

Schools

    Youth attend either the  Harlan Community Schools  (K-12)  or the Shelby County Catholic School (preK - 8) in Harlan. Shelby County schools are among the State’s leaders in combining a top-quality academic education, with a wide variety of successful extracurricular activities.  For more information see the Quality of Life tab in your resource guide.

Business & Industry

    It has a viable business community including: Shelby County State Bank (full service banking - 4 employees); Leinen, Inc. (farm supply and hardware - 6 employees); G & R Feed & Grain (buying and selling of feed and grain - 9 employees) and Club 191 (restaurant and supper club known in wide area for great food - 6 employees).

Churches

    St. Mary's Catholic Church.

Bragging Rights

    A very friendly community of strong German-Catholic heritage and work ethic. It is conveniently located at the junction of  State Highways 44 and 191 and served by the Burlington Northern/Santa Fe Railroad.

Tourism

    St. Mary's Catholic Church , Our Lady of Fatima - built in 1890 and constructed of bricks made locally, the Church was destroyed by a tornado in 1940. Rebuilding in 1951 included construction of the Our Lady of Fatima Shrine using Ozark stone and Tennessee flagstone and also included white Carrara Marble statues imported from Italy. In 1982 the interior of the Romanesque church was renovated.

    St. Mary's Parish Picnic - held annually every summer to celebrate the Church and Community.

History

    The land on which Portsmouth stands was originally owned by William Williams, who built a log cabin home there in the 1860's. The early settlement grew to be known as the "Cologne Settlement" and in 1886 it moved into Portsmouth. The town began its existence with the coming of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul railway and on August 8, 1882 the Milwaukee Land Co. platted the land for the City.