Ackworth is the second incorporated city in Iowa alphabetically, but based on its location it was assigned the lowest-number ZIP code in Iowa. Its post office disappeared nearly a year ago.
Before the long lists were put out, the USPS was closing post offices sporadically, as it has been doing for years. The website savethepostoffice.com is keeping national track of the post offices targeted for closure in 2011, but also has a list of those that have been closed in the past two years. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the two states with the most closures in that time are Iowa and West Virginia.
These, in 2009 and 2010, were the first of the wave: Ackworth, Bristow, Carpenter, Chapin, Clio, Columbus City, Cooper, Cromwell, Dorchester, Garber, Harper, Henderson, Kirkman, Millerton, Oakdale, Popejoy, Randalia, Swan, Waterville, Westgate, and Yarmouth. Two of those were in Allamakee County; it didn’t escape unscathed after all.
And an update to the map below: Austinville, Climbing Hill, Barnes City, and New Hartford were confirmed through news of meetings or contact. We think New Boston is an error, because there’s one in New Boston IL that was closed earlier this year.