More historic than 14% of U.S. towns · #135 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
Most of Ankeny was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2006. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1905 on, and the census since 1910.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1858.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Ankeny’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ankeny is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns, #135 of 140 in Iowa. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ankeny’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 Ankeny’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 (±0.6 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1854.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Ankeny’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Ankeny was founded as an agrarian community on April 22, 1875, by John Fletcher Ankeny and Sarah "Sally" Ankeny (née Wolgamot) on 80 acres purchased on July 11, 1874, for $1,600. The town, a single square mile, was formally incorporated on February 28, 1903.
In 1881, the town of Ankeny consisted of seven houses, a Methodist Church, a depot, a combination store/post office, livery stable, a blacksmith shop, rooming house, machine shop, and a school. There was no delivery of mail in the area at this time, and newspapers arrived in town on the train every Friday.
Passages that mention Ankeny, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Des Moines, the pioneer of municipal progress and reform of the middle West, together with the history of Polk County, Iowa, the largest, most populous and most prosperous county in the state of Iowa1911 · page 631Read the page →
Read the text
In the year 1854 Air. Ankeny visited Iowa and entered land in the vicinity of what is now the town of Ankeny, so named in honor of his son, John Fletcher Ankeny. In 1867 he brought his family to this state. The new farm was fenced and improved and an orchard was set out. He was deeply inter¬ ested in horticulture and did much to promote fruit-raising in Ohio as well as Iowa. Following their arrival in Des Moines the family lived with .the eldest daughter, Mrs. Susanna Barcroft, until 1871, when at the 'corner of Tenth and Locust streets the Ankeny home was established and became, as did the Millers¬
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Des Moines, the pioneer of municipal progress and reform of the middle West, together with the history of Polk County, Iowa, the largest, most populous and most prosperous county in the state of Iowa1911 · page 629Read the page →
Read the text
fabric of city life is built. It was in November, 1867, that Joseph Ankeny and his wife, Harriet (Giese) Ankeny came to Iowa, although in 1854 Mr. Ankeny had entered land near what is now the town of Ankeny. The family is descended from French Huguenot ancestry, the name being originally written Angene. Representatives of the name went to Germany in the days of Protes¬ tant persecution in France and from the fatherland emigration was made to Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and thence to Maryland. De Walt Ankeny, or Angene, came to the new world in the ship Neptune from Rotterdam in
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Polk County, Iowa1880 · page 654Read the page →
Read the text
The nearest shipping point is at Ankeny, in Crocker township, on the line of the Des Moines & Minnesota Railroad. The winter 1848 and 1849 was long to be remembered by settlers of what was known as the Cory Grove settlement. The snow covered everything to an enormous depth, and the icy fetter of grim old winter seemed to have bound every thing in its insatiable grasp. It was nearly impossible for the settlers to communicate with each other, or the outside world, for several months. During this period there was encamped near the Grove a
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
Ankeny, 1854 to 1994
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1854, according to Wikidata. Ankeny’s post office opened in 1858, and the census of 1910 counted 445 people here.
How does Ankeny rank for history?
Ankeny is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns, #135 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 Ankeny?
2% of Ankeny’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 2006.
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 (5), the Library of Congress (1), 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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