Wayfarrow

Bolton

Ghost town · Mahaska County, Iowa

Oskaloosa quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1968, 1:24,000)
Oskaloosa quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1968, 1:24,000) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Bolton is a ghost town in Mahaska County, Iowa. It is one of 5 former communities in Mahaska County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 8th among the 79 Iowa counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Bolton as a historical populated place on the Oskaloosa topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 41.2586° N, 92.7360° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleOskaloosa
Elevation713 ft
Nearest living townBeacon, IA
Distance to it3.1 miles
GNIS feature ID464272
Coordinates41.25862, -92.73603

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Bolton is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Beacon, IA (population 497), about 3.1 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 713 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Bolton?

Bolton is in Mahaska County, Iowa, at 41.2586, -92.7360.

How many ghost towns are in Mahaska County?

Mahaska County, Iowa has 5 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.