Zero, Iowa
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name = Zero, Iowa
|settlement_type = former unincorporated community
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|pushpin_map=Iowa
|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = United States
|subdivision_type1 = State
|subdivision_name1 = Iowa
|subdivision_type2 = County
|subdivision_name2 = Lucas
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|population_as_of = 2000
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|population_total = 0
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|timezone = Central (CST)
|utc_offset = -6
|timezone_DST = CDT
|utc_offset_DST = -5
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|elevation_m =
|elevation_ft = 942
|coordinates = {{coord|40|59|00|N|93|07|38|W|type:city_region:US-IA_source:GNIS-enwiki|display=inline,title}}
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Zero is a ghost town{{Cite web |title=Old Post Offices & Ghost Towns |url=http://iagenweb.org/lucas/PostOffices/Post-Offices.htm |access-date=2021-06-22 |website=iagenweb.org |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624202727/http://iagenweb.org/lucas/PostOffices/Post-Offices.htm |url-status=live }} and former unincorporated community in Lucas County, in the U.S. state of Iowa.{{GNIS|464814}} between Russell and Melrose.
History
Zero was platted in 1883 as a mining community, with the townsite being divided into five streets and 61 lots. There was a post office and the general store was operated by Henry Gettinger. The Zero Mine closed in 1886 due to flooding in the mine. Zero's population was estimated at 200 in 1887,{{Cite book |last=Cram |first=George Franklin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CPAwAQAAMAAJ&dq=cram%2527s+1885+atlas&pg=PA330 |title=Cram's Universal Atlas: Geographical, Astronomical and Historical, Containing a Complete Series of Maps of Modern Geography, Illustrated by Numerous Views and Charts ; the Whole Supplemented with Valuable Statistics, Diagrams, and a Complete Gazetteer of the United States |date=1887 |publisher=G.F. Cram |pages=367–369 |language=en}} and was 35 in 1902.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9AzrWecxN1wC |title=Cram's Modern Atlas: The New Unrivaled New Census Edition |date=1902 |publisher=J. R. Gray & Company |pages=203–207 |language=en}}
Zero continued to decline into the Twentieth century. In 1978, the Lucas County Genealogical Society wrote, "Only a couple of old wooden buildings and a few foundations remain of the old town [...] Today Zero, Iowa, is losing its contest with time. Fred Schreck is the last person living there in 1978 and he is 78 years old. The few buildings that remain have deteriorated past the point of ugliness and have achieved a weathered beauty of their own. The lovely countryside is closing in on the once proud house and sagging barn, and the shingle roofs no longer hold back the rain."{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Uj45GQAACAAJ |title=History of Lucas County, Iowa, 1978 |date=1978 |publisher=Walsworth Publishing Company |language=en}}
References
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External links
- [http://iagenweb.org/lucas/PostOffices/Post-Offices.htm Ghost Towns and Post Offices of Lucas County, Iowa]
{{Lucas County, Iowa}}
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Category:Unincorporated communities in Lucas County, Iowa
Category:Unincorporated communities in Iowa
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