Gifford is an unincorporated community

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in southeastern Hardin County

Hardin County, Iowa

-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 17,534 in the county, with a population density of . There were 8,224 housing units, of which 7,296 were occupied.-2000 census:...

, Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It lies along local roads south of the city of Eldora

Eldora, Iowa

Eldora is a city in Hardin County, Iowa, United States. The population was 3,035 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Hardin County. Eldora is located adjacent to the Iowa River and Pine Lake State Park. The city is most famous for the filming of the 1996 movie Twister on location. The...

, the county seat

County seat

A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 of Hardin County. Its elevation is 945 feet (288 m).

Gifford's post office was established on November 9, 1875 and discontinued on February 28, 1907. Although the post office was reopened on February 17, 1908, it was again discontinued on October 31, 1954 and attached to the Union

Union, Iowa

Union is a city in Hardin County, Iowa, United States. The population was 427 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Union is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....

 post office. Although its post office is gone, Gifford has its own ZIP Code

ZIP Code

ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...

, 50259, even though the ZIP Code system was not implemented until nearly nine years after Gifford's post office was attached to Union's.