Fontanelle is a city in Summerset Township, Adair County, Iowa, United States.

[3] Fontanelle was platted in 1855,[4] by New York state native James C. Gibbs (1820–1907),[5] who followed the arrival of a transient named Collins.

[6] In the summer of that year, Gibbs purchased lots on the northeast of the city square where he constructed a large log cabin.

[6] He died in 1907, aged 86, and is buried with his wife, Phoebe, in Fontanelle Cemetery.

[5] D. M. Valentine purchased lots immediately to the west of Gibbs', thus becoming the second settler.

[6] The city is named for chief Logan Fontanelle of the Omaha tribe, son of the French fur trader Lucien Fontanelle of the American Fur Company and an Omaha tribeswoman.

[7][8] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.96 square miles (2.49 km2), all land.

The east branch of the Nodaway River enters Fontanelle in its northwest quadrant.

41.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

The city's newspaper is The Fontanelle Observer, which now has a page on the website of the Creston News Advertiser.

[6] There are two churches in Fontanelle: a United Methodist[16] and an Emmanuel Lutheran, established in 1874.