Iowa Highway 23 (1969–1997)
former state highway in Wapello County, Iowa, United States
Iowa Highway 23 (Iowa 23) was a 14-mile-long (23 km) state highway in southern Iowa. It ran from U.S. Route 63 (US 63) in Ottumwa to Iowa 137 in Eddyville. It was created in 1969 when it traded route numbers with Iowa 15 in Van Buren County. It was removed from the state highway system in 1997 when US 63 was rerouted between Ottumwa and Oskaloosa.
Route description
Iowa 23 began in downtown Ottumwa underneath a bridge on which US 63 passed overhead. Direct access to US 63 was provided by a ramp which connected to Kitterman Avenue. The first three quarter-miles (1.2 km) of the highway was on a one-way couplet; northbound Iowa 23 followed 2nd Street West, while southbound was on Main Street West. The two directions converged at an intersection with McPherson Street, which is located next to a level crossing of the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad. As Iowa 23 left Ottumwa, it traveled northwest on a two-lane highway with narrow shoulders.
Iowa 23 continued to the northwest through rural Wapello County.
“Iowa Highway 23 (1969–1997)” enters the record as former state highway in Wapello County, Iowa, United States. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Iowa, Highway and former can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Iowa Highway 23 (1969–1997)” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Iowa, Highway and former provides the most credible route into that argument.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 1, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q16973526. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1969 and 1997.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Iowa Highway 23 (1969–1997)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Iowa Highway 23 (1969–1997) primary sources, Iowa Highway 23 (1969–1997) archive and Iowa research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Iowa Highway 23 (1969–1997)”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Iowa Highway 23 (1969–1997)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.