Remsen was named for Dr. William Remsen Smith, a pioneer Sioux City physician who became an extensive landowner in the area. Smith had a good friend who suggested the name Smithville, but Smith thought that there were too many Smiths in the world, and instead chose to give the town his middle name.
Remsen was platted by the Iowa Falls and Sioux City Railroad Town Land and Lot Company August 28, 1876, and was incorporated in the spring of 1889. The city is located in the northeast corner of Plymouth County, Iowa’s most western county. The population was 1,663 at the 2010 Census.
Covered with farmsteads and acreages in the Deep Creek Valley, Remsen is a growing, prosperous community where original German and Luxembourg immigrant descent mix with newcomers from all over the world.
Remsen is a popular recreation center in Northwest Iowa. Known for hospitality, good times, and a strong sense of community and family, Remsen offers a wide variety of recreational activities and events for all ages.
Companies have chosen Remsen as home because of the strong rural Midwestern work ethic, access to excellent industrial and commercial sites, economic support from community leaders, and family lifestyle.
