Iowa’s Creepiest Abandoned Attraction is an Entire Eastern Iowa Town

There's nothing spookier than an abandoned place that was once full of life!

The website Love Exploring recently put out a list of the eeriest abandoned attractions to visit in all 50 states, and the pick for Iowa is a town you may have never heard of before: Buckhorn.

Located in Jackson County off of Highway 64, all that's left of Buckhorn, Iowa is a few old buildings. The article from Love Exploring reads:

"Visitors will find no historical plaques here, but the crumbling creamery, abandoned cemetery, and shuttered whitewashed church speak for themselves. It's typically possible to wander around outside the haunting structures, but don't go inside – they're private property."

The History of Buckhorn

A Facebook post from the Jackson County Historical Society says that Shadrach Burleson first moved to what would become Buckhorn back in 1836. He came from New York, built a cabin, and then relocated with his wife and five kids. The post says that Shadrach would go on to donate "land for the school, the church and the Buckhorn Cemetery, and [build] the Buckhorn Tavern - so named for the many sets of antlers he mounted around the door."

At the end of the 1800s, the Farmer’s Union Cooperative Creamery was formed in the town of Buckhorn. According to a 2019 article from the Maquoketa Sentinel-Press, "at its height, Buckhorn Creamery had about 700 patrons supplying milk and 11 milk haulers covering 17 routes." The creamery actually produced around 34 million pounds of butter between 1899 and 1952!

Although there was also an inn, a church, a cemetery, and a school, the creamery appeared to be the most important feature of the town of Buckhorn. The article from the Maquoketa Sentinel-Press says the annual creamery picnics used to draw anywhere between 2,000 to 5,000 to the area. But, in the late 1950s, things began to change. The article states that the "creamery’s decline might have been due to farmers getting out of the dairy business or selling their cream to other small creameries." The creamery began producing cheese instead of butter, but that wasn't enough to save it. In 1962, they merged with Mississippi Valley Milk Producers, and the property was sold at a public auction the following year.

What's Left of Buckhorn

Only three attractions remain in Buckhorn today: the church, the creamery, and the cemetery. You can see what's left of the town in the videos below:

The Buckhorn Name Lives On

While looking into the ghost town of Buckhorn, I came across a business that recently adopted its name! Formerly known as Jackie's Ice Cream, Buckhorn Ice Cream opens this month at 180 W Gillet Street in Preston, just east of Maquoketa. The Facebook page reads:

"Why Buckhorn? We wanted a name that honored this area and our families connection to dairy farming. We both had grandparents who owned dairy farms. We grew up hearing about how tough you had to be to haul milk cans to the creamery like Linsey's grandpa, Robert Andersen, did for Buckhorn Creamery."

You can read more about the shop's season opening HERE.

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