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History · Alburnett

Alburnett’s post office opened in 1892, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Hickman-Nietert-Odd Fellows Building. Below: maps from 1888 on and the census since 1920.

1892first post office
1on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Alburnett began

When was Alburnett founded?

1892

The Alburnett post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1912. Another post office, Trentham (1888), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 201 in 19202020 census: 675134 years
Founding year: the first Alburnett post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1912.The full story ↓

What stands out about Alburnett’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Alburnett are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18883 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1975. Watch Alburnett change.Old housesHalf of Alburnett’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Alburnett’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Alburnett’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Alburnett on the map, 1888 to 1975

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Alburnett. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Alburnett on the 1888 USGS mapAlburnett on the 1968 USGS mapAlburnett on the 1975 USGS map1888Marion sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Alburnett.

The story

How Alburnett came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Alburnett.

Read it all →

In 1887, the Illinois Central Railroad was built through Linn County's Otter Creek township. In the winter of that year, a depot was built on land donated by Albert Burnett. Because he had given land for the depot, the name "Burnett" was chosen for its identification.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Alburnett, 1888 to 1892

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888Post officeThe Trentham post office opens
  3. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1892Post officeThe Trentham post office closes
  5. 1892Post officeThe Alburnett post office opens
By decade

Alburnett, decade by decade

Today2 recent
AlburnettIowaPopPlot2021AlburnettIowaPopPlotIAMap-doton-Alburnett2004IAMap-doton-Alburnett
On the National Register

1 historic place in Alburnett

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2023
Hickman-Nietert-Odd Fellows Building
Hickman-Nietert-Odd Fellows Building
Buildings
All 1 listings
Hickman-Nietert-Odd Fellows BuildingBuilding · listed 2023

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Alburnett, census by census

0100200300400500600700192019401960198020002020675

Grew from 201 people in 1920 to 675 in 2020, 3 times over.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Alburnett’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Alburnett’s post office has been open since 1892. Another post office, Trentham, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Trentham
1888–1892
Alburnett
1892–today
18801950today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Alburnett’s history

What year was Alburnett founded?

The Alburnett post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1912.

What is on the National Register in Alburnett?

One place: the Hickman-Nietert-Odd Fellows Building (listed 2023).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.