The historic community of Red Rock, Iowa is one of six “lost towns” that now lie submerged under Lake Red Rock.
The oldest of the six, Red Rock was first founded as a trading post in 1842. The town grew, but it certainly had its share of growing pains. The town was a rough one in its early years, with reportedly the highest murder rate in Iowa at the time.
Over the years, however, the town of Red Rock became a respectable place with a school, a church, a bookstore, and even a doctor. It was also an industrious place, boasting four sawmills and a flour mill. A railroad was extended to it in order to facilitate quarrying of the beautiful red sandstone, but the rock was soon found to be too soft to be worth mining.
While Red Rock’s location was ideal in many ways, its close proximity to the Des Moines river also carried great risk. The town suffered significant flooding damage multiple times in its history, including during the summer of 1947. After these devastating floods, the government decided it could no longer delay the plans to build a dam to mitigate future flooding.
The original site for the dam was upriver from the town of Red Rock, but after additional research, experts determined that the dam needed to be located further downriver, at the current Howell’s Station site. Residents of Red Rock (and the other nearby towns) protested stoutly, but in the end, the Army Corps of Engineers bought the towns, and the structures were either moved or destroyed prior to the filling of Lake Red Rock.
The dam spelled hope for many as it would protect them from devastating flooding, but it also spelled heartbreak and loss for the residents of Red Rock.
The old road to Red Rock is a narrow track, densely overgrown with saw grass and burr-laden weeds before it disappears in lakewater. Although, when the water level is low, there’s still evidence of the lost town. There’s some rubble from the old brick buildings dotting the shoreline.
It’s the perfect place to sit and look out over the water, imagining the bustling life that once went on where the waves now lap. It’s also a place to appreciate the skill and foresight that has allowed Red Rock Dam to protect thousands of homes and businesses from destructive flooding today.
