Lisbon: the Main Street town past Mount Vernon

A railroad town of 1859 with a deep stock of pre war houses and a ring of 1990s and 2000s streets.

Foundation and basement help in Lisbon, Iowa, covers 768 homes with a median build year of 1978, and 178 of them date from before 1940. Directory listings disagree on whether Lisbon or Linn County handles building permits, so ring City Hall on Main Street first and ask which office takes a foundation job.

Where Lisbon sits

Lisbon is the last town on the eastern edge of Linn County, about 15 miles east of downtown Cedar Rapids and only a couple of miles past Mount Vernon on the old Lincoln Highway, with the Cedar County line just beyond. Settlers were arriving by the mid 1830s, and the town grew once the railroad came through in 1859 (historical marker, search summary). Its German settlers gave it the nickname Dutchtown and, from 1909, a late summer festival called Sauerkraut Days that still runs each August (marker and newspaper accounts, search summary).

The Census counted 2,232 people at its April 2020 base and estimates 2,239 for July 2025.

What the housing count shows

The Census 2020 to 2024 survey finds 768 homes, with a median build year of 1978. The oldest layer is large for a town this size: 178 homes, 23 percent, from 1939 or earlier, mostly on the blocks around Main Street and the rail line. Then come 132 from the 1970s, 133 from the 1990s and 128 from the 2000s, on the newer streets at the edges of town. Most are detached houses (586), with 55 attached units such as duplexes and townhouses, about a hundred apartments in small buildings, and 23 mobile homes. Four homes in five are owner occupied, and the median owner value is $219,700.

Old walls and new walls

Under a Lisbon house from before 1940, expect laid stone, brick or hollow clay tile rather than poured concrete. Those walls tend to show damp patches and soft mortar long before they move. A wall that bows inward, or a joint crack that steps across several courses, is the sign to have it looked at.

The 1990s and 2000s houses usually sit on poured walls with drain tile and a sump. Their common questions are thin curing cracks, a sump that runs too often after a storm, and backfill that has settled until the yard slopes toward the house. Fix the slope and the downspouts first; it is the cheapest change that keeps water off a wall.

Who to ask about a permit

One permit directory says Lisbon applications go to Linn County Planning and Development; another listing says City Hall takes construction requests inside city limits, and the city code sets up its own building board of appeals (directory listings and city code, search summary). Ring Lisbon City Hall at (319) 455-2459 first and ask which office takes a foundation or drainage job. If the answer is the county, that is Linn County Planning and Development, Jean Oxley Public Service Center, 935 2nd Street SW, Cedar Rapids, phone (319) 892-5130.

Just west, Mount Vernon has its own page for its older houses on the Cornell ridge.

Questions people ask

Who issues a foundation repair permit in Lisbon?

Listings disagree on whether the city or Linn County handles it. Ring Lisbon City Hall at (319) 455-2459 first; if it is the county, call Linn County Planning and Development at (319) 892-5130.

How old are the houses in Lisbon?

The median build year is 1978, but 178 of the 768 homes date from before 1940, most near Main Street. The newer streets were built mainly in the 1990s and 2000s.

My Lisbon house has a stone basement wall. Is damp a sign of failure?

Not by itself. Damp in stone or tile walls usually comes from wet soil and poor drainage. Bowing, loose stones or a crack that steps across several joints are the signs worth a closer look.

How far is Lisbon from Cedar Rapids?

About 15 miles east of downtown, just past Mount Vernon on the old Lincoln Highway.

See the full town list, the permit table and basement wall cracks.