Bonaparte is a city in Van Buren County, Iowa, United States.

[3] The town is located on the Des Moines River and contains a number of historical buildings, including a large pottery.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.37 square miles (0.96 km2), all land.

There were 212 housing units at an average density of 573.0 per square mile (221.2/km2).

33.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

31.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

[12] It was previously in the Harmony Community School District,[13] until it merged into Van Buren County CSD on July 1, 2019.

Michael Bentler, 53, his wife Sandra, 47, and their three daughters: Sheena, 17, Shelby, 15 and Shayne, 14, were pronounced dead at the scene.

The family's oldest and surviving child, Shawn Michael Bentler, 22, was arrested in Illinois on unrelated drug charges.

On October 25, 1996, Bonaparte was the location of a supposed birthday party for Laura Van Wyhe, the 21-year-old mother who was found fatally injured hours later in Kahoka, Missouri.

"Bonaparte" is the name of the 2021 podcast about the circumstances of her death, and her decades-old unsolved case.