Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1960 on and the census since 1870.
Albion dates its founding to 1852 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1870.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Albion’s history is told.
Peaked at 772 in 1970; 448 people lived here in 2020.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Albion’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Albion.
Albion was founded in 1852. The town was first called La Fayette until the name was changed to Albion in 1858. The present name is after Albion, the poetic name for Britain.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Albion, cut from the printed page as they were published.
To the County Judge of Marshall County, Greeting : Whereas, it has lately been represented unto the District Court of the County of Marshall, State of Iowa, on the behalf of William Parnell, that the said Wm. Parnell is a resident of the town of Albion, in said county, that he is the owner of real estate therein, and that he is beneficially interestedinhavingthecounty seat of Marshall relocated at said town of Albion; that on the 11th day of January, A. D. 1860, a notice was issued in the Marietta Wtekly Express, a weekly newspaper published in said county, and the same was published for a term of twenty days thereafter, notifying the citizens of said county that at the February term of the County Court of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
the town of Marshall in a certain proceeding now depending in the County Court of said county, in the matter of a petition and remonstrance relating to an order for a vote on the question of relocating the county seat of said county between the town of Marshall, the present county seat, and the town of Albion, in said county. , Wells S. Rice, H. D. Haetwell. On the 7th of April, Judge Battin subscribed the following demurrer to the mandamus : STATE OF IOWA, COUNTY OF MARSHALL.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
It was laid out and surveyed in August, 1852, by George W. Voris and Thomas S. Brown, and given the name of Lafayette, which it continued to bear until 1858, when it was changed to Albion, there being another town named Lafayette on the Des Moines river. Albion is situated on the east side of the Iowa river, and has a splendid location, one of the finest in the State. Among the earliest settlers was Mr. Perrigo,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Albion. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Albion.
Nobody well known was born in Albion itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
In 1852, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Albion’s post office opened in 1854, and the census of 1870 counted 475 people here.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2024
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2004