SWAN, Iowa — The City of Swan passed a discontinuance on Wednesday that will disband the town and pass maintenance over to Marion County.

Swan was founded in the 1840s and expanded with the arrival of the railroad and the Black Swan Coal Mine. By the early 1900s, the town housed several hundred residents and multiple businesses.

On Wednesday, Swan’s city council passed a resolution of discontinuance. Mayor Stacy Harding says over the past few years the city has struggled to maintain involvement.

 “I, like so many others, have long-standing personal and family ties to this historic small Iowa town. No one wants to see it go. But in the end, there just isn’t enough interest from residents to stay involved going forward,” Mayor Stacy Harding.

The upkeep of the town will be transferred into the hands of Marion County at the end of the year. Harding says this will bring many changes to the area, but some things are certain.

“We will still have hard surface roads, and we’ll still be neighbors being neighborly,” said Mayor Harding. “We just might do it with a couple less streetlights.”

With the vote passing the city council, residents now have 30 days to petition for a public vote on the discontinuance. If no petitions are heard, the city will proceed with liquifying the city.