More historic than 17% of U.S. towns · #131 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
Most of Altoona was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. Below: maps from 1930 on and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Altoona post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1876.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Altoona’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Altoona is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #131 of 140 in Iowa. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Altoona’s overall grade.
Iowa towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Iowa town has 9.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Altoona’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (17% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share (±1.3 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1876 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Altoona’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Anthony Yant first settled in what is now Altoona in 1854, the same year Gilbert T. Taylor settled there. The land was originally surveyed in 1847 and put up for sale by the US government in 1848, but it took six years to sell. After many sales between different families, the Davis family ended up with the land on February 1, 1868.
The Davises hired surveyor Julian B. Bausman to lay out the city. He is also credited for giving the city the current name. Altoona is named for the Latin word for "high," altus, after surveyor Julian B. Bausman discovered Altoona was the highest point on the Des Moines Valley Railroad between Des Moines and Keokuk.
Passages that mention Altoona, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Polk County, Iowa1880 · page 659Read the page →
Read the text
The first official meetings of the township board were held at the office of J. M. Steele, a hardware dealer in the town of Altoona. The first school-house erected in the bounds of the township was on section 7, and was known as the Woodrow school-house.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Polk County, Iowa1880 · page 660Read the page →
Read the text
The town of Altoona is a neat and healthy place and a most desirable location as a place of residence for those who enjoy a quiet and orderly community to dwell in, and where the advantages of schools and society are among the best.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Centennial history of Polk County, Iowa1876 · page 64Read the page →
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Altoona, partly in Beaver, but principally in Delaware township, a few miles west of Mitchellville, at the junction of the Rock Island and Keokuk & Des Moines railroads, was started in 1867, by a Mr. Cook, who called it Petersburg. The next year, August 3d, 1868, when it contained but two houses, it was oflicially laid out by H. G. Davis and J. B. Bausman, of Des Moines. When the Rock Island Railroad reached this place, in 1867, it was called Yant's
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Centennial history of Polk County, Iowa1876 · page 65Read the page →
Read the text
Station, and was afterwards rechristened Altoona, by suggestion of Mr. Bausman. Among the early residents of Altoona, were W, Cbamberlain and N. W. Wheeler, merchants; and J. W. Seller, blacksmith. H. C. Ensign laid out eighty acres in Delaware township as the first addition to th« original town plat of ten acres. Dr. Morgan opened his office for the practice of medicine, and in 1871, T. E. Harris opened a grain ware-
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.
Timeline
Altoona, 1868 to 1982
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Altoona post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1876.
How does Altoona rank for history?
Altoona is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #131 of 140 in Iowa. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Altoona?
3% of Altoona’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.3 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1998.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
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