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History · Anthon

Anthon’s post office opened in 1888, and 38% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1969 on, and the census since 1900.

1888first post office
0on the National Register
38%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Anthon’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Anthon began

When was Anthon founded?

1888

The Anthon post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Gale (1871), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 437 in 19002020 census: 545138 years
Founding year: the first Anthon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Anthon’s past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 881 in 1940; 545 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Anthon’s homes were built before 1953.
★ What stands out · People over time

Anthon, census by census

02004006008001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 881

Peaked at 881 in 1940; 545 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story so far

Anthon, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Anthon yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Anthon is a city in Woodbury County, Iowa, United States. It is part of the Sioux City, IA–NE–SD Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 545 at the 2020 census. Anthon was home to Charles Osborne, who had the hiccups continuously for 68 years, and was featured in the Guinness Book of World Records. It was also home to eunuchoidal giant Bernard Coyne, who was over 8 feet (243 cm) tall. Anthon was named for J. C. Anthon, a railroad engineer. It was founded in 1888.

Its first post office opened in 1888. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 565 to 545 (-4%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Anthon, 1871 to 1969

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Gale post office opens
  3. 1888Post officeThe Gale post office closes
  4. 1888Post officeThe Anthon post office opens
  5. 1893Born hereRalph E. Turner is born here
  6. 1897Born hereBernard Coyne is born here
  7. 20th century
  8. 1936In the archiveLivestock shelter on Charles Banta farm near Anthon, Iowa
  9. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 881
  10. 1969On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Anthon, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s6 items
Livestock shelter on Charles Banta farm near Anthon, Iowa1936Livestock shelter on Charles Banta farm near Anthon, …Cradle on William McDermott farm near Anthon, Iowa1936Cradle on William McDermott farm near Anthon, IowaHouse on William McDermott farm near Anthon, Iowa1936House on William McDermott farm near Anthon, IowaToilet on the William McDermott farm near Anthon, Iowa1936Toilet on the William McDermott farm near Anthon, IowaA Democrat wagon on William Walling farm near Anthon, Iowa1936A Democrat wagon on William Walling farm near Anthon,…One of the three hogs on the William McDermott farm near Anthon, Iowa1936One of the three hogs on the William McDermott farm n…
1940s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
On the map

Anthon on the map, 1969 to 1985

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

Anthon on the 1969 USGS mapAnthon on the 1985 USGS map1969Correctionville sheet · 1:24,000

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

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Livestock shelter on Charles Banta farm near Anthon, Iowa
Retake this viewLivestock shelter on Charles Banta farm near Anthon, Iowa, 1936

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Anthon’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Anthon

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Bernard CoyneAmerican giant · b. 1897
R
Ralph E. TurnerAmerican historian, author and professor · b. 1893
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Anthon’s post office has been open since 1888. Another post office, Gale, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gale
1871–1888
Anthon
1888–today
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Anthonlocale

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

Help out

Finish Anthon’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewLivestock shelter on Charles Banta farm…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Anthon’s history

What year was Anthon founded?

The Anthon post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 the Library of Congress (6), 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) 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.