24/7 Trauma and Biohazard Cleanup in Avoca, IA

Avoca is a city in Pottawattamie County in southwest Iowa, founded in 1869 in connection with the construction of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad through the area.

Avoca's name comes from Ireland — it is named after the Avoca in Thomas Moore's poem 'The Meeting of the Waters,' and the Irish word Abhóca means 'the meeting of the waters.'

Before settling on Avoca, the young town was briefly called Pacific and then Botna by its early settlers.

Avoca grew quickly into a regional service center for the farms of northeastern Pottawattamie County, earning it the role of judicial seat for the eastern half of the county.

Pottawattamie County still maintains a second courthouse in Avoca to serve the county's northeastern portion, because the county seat at Council Bluffs sits in the county's far southwestern corner.

Avoca had 1,683 residents at the 2020 census, living in about 704 households — its largest population in more than a century, up 11.8% from 2010.

Avoca's first newspaper, the Avoca Delta, published its first issue on January 1, 1870, barely a year after the town was platted.

The Avoca brewery, established by Jacob Kampf in 1874, could produce 800 barrels of beer a year in the town's earliest days.

In 2005, Avoca opened a new local swimming pool, a notable civic investment for a town of its size.

Avoca's students are served by the AHSTW Community School District, a shared district linking Avoca with Hancock, Shelby, Tennant and Walnut.