Welcome to Harrisburg ...
Harrisburg is located in Van Buren County<1>.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Harrisburg, you might consider that their post office opened in 1841.
When the people of Harrisburg refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Harrisburger<2>
Harrisburg is 740 feet [226 m] above sea level.<3>.
Time Zone: Harrisburg lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Communities Also Named Harrisburg ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 44 communities that are also named Harrisburg - they are located in Alabama (2), Arizona (2), Arkansas, California, Colorado (2), Florida, Georgia (3), Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas (2), Maryland, Michigan, Missouri (2), Nebraska, New Mexico, New York (3), North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio (4), Oklahoma, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas (2), Utah and Virginia.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Harrisburg.
Communities near Harrisburg ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Harrisburg.
- Fairfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Pleasant
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- West Point
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Keosauqua
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Donnellson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Farmington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Birmingham
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Birmingham have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
- Birmingham is located in Van Buren County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
- Bonaparte
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bonaparte have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonaparte
- Bonaparte is located in Van Buren County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 405 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bonaparte <4>
- Salem
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Salem have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
- Salem is located in Henry County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 380 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Salem <4>
- Libertyville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
- Libertyville is located in Jefferson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 341 people
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Harrisburg. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Harrisburg.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Harrisburg. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Harrisburg.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Harrisburg. See our Newspapers Page for Harrisburg.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Harrisburg ...
Looking for more information about Harrisburg? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Harrisburg, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Harrisburg.
Adding Harrisburg to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Harrisburg in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Harrisburg was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>
From that list, the Harrisburg post office opened in 1841.
For more details, see References and Mentions for Harrisburg.
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Iowa's counties, including Van Buren, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Harrisburg refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a community's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Harrisburg may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Harrisburg - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <6> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at:
https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |