McPaul is a former townsite and unincorporated community in Fremont County, Iowa, United States. It was located at the intersection of County Roads J18 and L31, near the Missouri River. It is three miles west of Thurman.
History McPaul was founded as a railroad town. The Kansas City, St. Joseph and Council Bluffs Railroad passed through McPaul in the late 1800s.Fremont County Atlas (1891). Northwest Publishing Co. Much of modern-day Interstate 29 covers the former townsite; only a few scattered houses remain. The McPaul State Wildlife Management Area is located north of the townsite.
McPaul's population was 100 in 1925. The population was 47 in 1940.
McPaul was impacted by the 2019 Midwestern U.S. floods. One homeowner in McPaul had to wait 180 days for floodwater to drain; the home flooded again five days later. The McPaul exit off Interstate 29 was still closed, with visible standing water, in early October. Buyouts were planned for local residents.
2019 flooding and recovery
The 2019 Midwestern U.S. floods had prolonged effects on McPaul. In December 2019, Fremont County's emergency management coordinator reported that the community had approximately a dozen houses and that at least one home had remained under approximately two feet of water for nine months. The home had been moved off its foundation and was considered unrepairable. Five homes in the McPaul area were then included on the county's list of potential buyouts.
Flooding also damaged roads and parking areas in the McPaul State Wildlife Management Area. In 2024, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources approved a FEMA-funded repair project covering roads and parking lots in the McPaul and several neighboring wildlife areas. The work included removing vegetation, reshaping damaged roads and parking areas, and placing earth fill and aggregate. The McPaul-area repairs were scheduled for completion in May 2025.
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