Blood & Biohazard Cleanup Near Malcom Historic District Malcom, IA

The land where Malcom now stands was Sauk and Meskwaki territory until the treaty of May 1, 1843 opened it to settlement.

Malcom's township was organized by 1858, and after the railroad was extended from Iowa City in 1863, the village was laid out on Little Bear Creek along the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific line.

Malcom was incorporated on April 23, 1872, and the town sits about a mile and a half from the geographic center of Poweshiek County.

The city was named for an early Scottish settler of the area.

The 2020 census counted 270 people, 117 households, and 80 families in Malcom.

Malcom's population peaked at 447 residents, a figure it reached in both the 1940 and 1990 censuses.

One of Malcom's major employers is the chemical company BASF, which operates a facility in the town.

Malcom was badly damaged by the August 2020 derecho that swept across Iowa — a resident died in the storm and several of the town's grain silos were toppled.

Malcom's first school opened in 1855 with just six students, and Malcom High School graduated its last class in 1960 before merging with Brooklyn and Guernsey to form the BGM Community School District.

The town sits just north of Interstate 80 in central Iowa, with Little Bear Creek running along its southern edge.