Nearby are such natural areas as Lewis & Clark State Park, Preparation Canyon State Park, and the Loess Hills State Forest.ĭemographics Historical populations Year Onawa is located in the Loess Hills region of western Iowa, a unique geological and environmental area. Īccording to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.19 square miles (13.44 km 2), all land. Onawa's longitude and latitude coordinates in decimal form are 42.027490, -96.096513. A larger camp existed near the central Iowa town of Algona, and housed as many as 5,400 German POWs. Historical documents indicate there were never more than 50 POWs in camp. Onawa was the site of a prisoner-of-war (POW) camp for captured German soldiers between 19. The city is known for having the widest main street in the continental United States. Onawa was platted in 1857, and the railway arrived to the city in 1867.
Onawa was named for a character mentioned in the poem The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
It is the largest town on the Iowa side of the Missouri River between Council Bluffs and Sioux City. The population was 2,906 at the time of the 2020 Census. Onawa is a city in, and the county seat of, Monona County, Iowa, United States.
