Wellman Map
Wellman is a city in Washington County, Iowa, United States. It part of the Iowa City, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,393 at the 2000 census.
Wellman is named for Joseph Edward Wellman, who in July, 1879, provided 40 acres (160,000 m2) of his farmland for railroad construction including lots for development near the depot. Mr. Wellman was born in Lawrence County, Kentucky on 12 May 1824, acquired his farm in 1859, and died in Wellman on 14 January 1901.
Original European settlement of the area occurred in 1839 on the north side of the English River north of Wellman. A gristmill began operation in 1842, and the community of Wassonville was surveyed and platted in 1848. The Wassonville ferry served a major territorial road from Iowa City to Oskaloosa and the western frontier. A roadhouse had been constructed by 1850 and population grew to 300. Wassonville residents discouraged by frequent flood damage from the English River established the replacement village of Dayton on higher ground south of Wassonville in 1855. Dayton was the main trading point of the area from about 1860 to 1880, and the name was changed to Daytonville by the United States Post Office in 1878.
Nearby cities include Parnell, North English, South English, Riverside, Washington.