Harlan Junction
Ghost town · Pottawattamie County, Iowa

Harlan Junction is a ghost town in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. It is one of 4 former communities in Pottawattamie County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 24th among the 79 Iowa counties with a vanished settlement on record.
The U.S. Geological Survey lists Harlan Junction as a historical populated place on the Avoca topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 41.4980° N, 95.3636° W.
Key facts
| USGS quadrangle | Avoca |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 1,160 ft |
| Nearest living town | Avoca, IA |
| Distance to it | 1.7 miles |
| GNIS feature ID | 464241 |
| Coordinates | 41.49805, -95.36361 |
What's there now
Harlan Junction is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Avoca, IA (population 1,369), about 1.7 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 1,160 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.
Nearby places
- Newtownghost town · Pottawattamie County · 3.4 mi
- Iolaghost town · Pottawattamie County · 11.5 mi
- Union Burgghost town · Harrison County · 14.7 mi
- Indiantownghost town · Cass County · 18.5 mi
- Grove Cityghost town · Cass County · 22.2 mi
- Kemlingghost town · Pottawattamie County · 23.3 mi
- Bairdghost town · Harrison County · 25.7 mi
- Allenghost town · Harrison County · 31.7 mi
- Bellghost town · Crawford County · 32.5 mi
- Biddickghost town · Montgomery County · 32.6 mi
- Frankfortghost town · Montgomery County · 34.3 mi
- De Sotoghost town · Washington County · 35.9 mi
Questions
Where is Harlan Junction?
Harlan Junction is in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, at 41.4980, -95.3636.
How many ghost towns are in Pottawattamie County?
Pottawattamie County, Iowa has 4 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.
- USGS Geographic Names Information System (Domestic Names) — GNIS Domestic Names, feature record (public-domain)
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line and ACS — Census Gazetteer + ACS 5-year population (public-domain)
Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.