Lanyon 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 Lost Grove Township in Webster County

Webster County, Iowa

-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 38,013 in the county, with a population density of . There were 17,035 housing units, of which 15,580 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 is located 17 miles south of the county seat of Fort Dodge

Fort Dodge, Iowa

Fort Dodge is a city and county seat of Webster County, Iowa, United States, along the Des Moines River. The population was 25,206 in the 2010 census, an increase from 25,136 in the 2000 census. Fort Dodge is a major commercial center for North Central and Northwest Iowa. It is located on U.S...

, 2.65 miles south and 1 mile west of Harcourt

Harcourt, Iowa

Harcourt is a city in Webster County, Iowa, United States. The population was 340 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Harcourt is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....

 (on U.S. Highway 169), and 3.3 miles north and 4.5 miles west of Boxholm

Boxholm, Iowa

Boxholm is a city in Grant Township, Boone County, Iowa, United States. The population was 215 at the 2000 census. It is part of the 'Boone, Iowa Micropolitan Statistical Area', which is a part of the larger 'Ames-Boone, Iowa Combined Statistical Area'....

. It is made up of seven blocks, bounded on the north by 390th Street, and on the east by Lanyon Avenue. It includes the Evangelical Covenant Church, founded in 1877 and located in Lanyon since 1909.

Its elevation is 1,171 feet (357 m).

History

The community was founded by Swedish emigrants, part of a migration from Knox County, Illinois

Knox County, Illinois

Knox County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 52,919, which is a decrease of 5.2% from 55,836 in 2000...

 in the 1860s.

It is located on the diagonal route of a former interurban railroad between Boone

Boone, Iowa

Boone is a city in and the county seat of Des Moines Township, Boone County, Iowa, United States. It is the principal city of the 'Boone, Iowa Micropolitan Statistical Area', which encompasses all of Boone County. This micropolitan statistical area, along with the 'Ames, Iowa Metropolitan...

 and Rockwell City

Rockwell City, Iowa

Rockwell City is a city in Calhoun County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,264 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Calhoun County.-Geography:Rockwell City is located at ....

, which was used by the Fort Dodge, Des Moines and Southern Railroad until the 1960s. A station at Layton was opened in 1899 to serve a railway laid that year by the Marshalltown and Dakota Railroad Company to carry coal mined near Fraser

Fraser, Iowa

Fraser is a city in Dodge Township, Boone County, Iowa, United States. The population was 137 at the 2000 census. It is part of the 'Boone, Iowa Micropolitan Statistical Area', which is a part of the larger 'Ames-Boone, Iowa Combined Statistical Area'...

 northwest to connections at Gowrie

Gowrie, Iowa

Gowrie is a city in Webster County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,038 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Gowrie is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....

. Lanyon was the site of a U.S. Post Office

U.S. Post Office

U.S. Post Office may refer to the United States Post Office Department or to the United States Postal Service . The term may also refer to individual buildings, many of which have historical or architectural significance. Some noted examples of U.S...

 (established in 1900), the Lanyon Mutual Telephone Company (established in 1903), the Bank of Lanyon, Lanyon Well Company, and (until the early 1960s) Lanyon Consolidated School. Lanyon is now within the Southeast Webster-Grand School District.

Notable residents and natives

• George E.Q. Johnson, United States Attorney
  United States Attorney
  United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
  
   for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois who successfully prosecuted Al Capone
  Al Capone
  Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early...
  
   for tax evasion
  Tax evasion
  Tax evasion is the general term for efforts by individuals, corporations, trusts and other entities to evade taxes by illegal means. Tax evasion usually entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting or concealing the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability,...