Colo

History

Settlement of the area which would become Colo began in 1856 when the small village of New Albany was founded. By the early 1860s the railroad reached the area with the first train station in Story County being built in the community in 1863. Colo would be incorporated on April 26, 1876 and would take its name from the dog of railroad official John Blair. Reportedly Colo the dog succumbed to a grisly fate as it was crushed by a train that was carrying construction material. The community would see an influx of visitors in the 1920s and 1930s with the completion of the Lincoln and Jefferson highways which intersect in Colo at the Reed/Niland Corner.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,603
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  1,519
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,358
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,349
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,238
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,199
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  1,100
• White-breasted Nuthatch

  Sitta carolinensis Latham, 1790 · Aves
  1,072

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2025-06-25
  10 km WNW of Marysville, Iowa
• M 3 — 2025-06-25
  5 km S of Knoxville, Iowa
• M 3.3 — 2025-06-25
  8 km SE of Knoxville, Iowa