The story
Read it all →How Audubon came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Audubon.
The city is named for John James Audubon, an ornithologist, artist, and painter.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
B+History
History · Audubon
Audubon’s post office opened in 1871, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 74% of U.S. towns. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 7 buildings. Below: maps from 1886 on and the census since 1880.
1871first post office
2on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Quick answers
How Audubon began
When was Audubon founded?
1871
The Audubon post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1880.
First census: 792 in 18802020 census: 2,053155 years
How historic is Audubon?
B+
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 74% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Audubon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1880.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Audubon’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Audubon is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Audubon’s overall grade.
Founding era1871, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194028.0% of homes (±8.1) · typical IA town 21.6% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register2 listings, 8 historic buildings, 37.6 per 10,000 residents · typical IA town 9.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 74%
NewerOlder
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 Audubon’s 37.6 sits above most of its state (73% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 8 historic buildings outnumber those of 74% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1880 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 Audubon’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 Audubon are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1886 to 1913, drew every building in Audubon.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,928 in 1960; 2,053 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Audubon’s homes were built before 1958.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Audubon’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Audubon’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Every building
Audubon, building by building, 1886–1913
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1886Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
People over time
Audubon, census by census
Peaked at 2,928 in 1960; 2,053 people lived here in 2020.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Audubon’s Wikipedia page.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Audubon in 1915
Passages that mention Audubon, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Audubon county, Iowa1915Read the page →
Read the text
There was not a railroad in Iowa when Audubon county was first settled. In 1865 the Rock Island railroad reached the town of Kellogg, and the Northwestern railroad reached the town of Boone the same year. In 1866 the Northwestern reached Council Bluffs, and one railroad got through to Des Moines the same year. At that period the people of Audubon county first began to realize that they were in touch \\ith railroad facilities.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Audubon county, Iowa1915 · page 667Read the page →
Read the text
In 1866, when the Hallock family was established in Audubon county, the very first settlers were arriving here, so that it is safe to say that the family has been connected with the history of Audubon county, and especially the agricultural life, practically ever since it was occupied by white people.
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
Audubon, 1871 to 1960
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1871Post officeThe Audubon post office opens
- 1895Born hereOtto Colee is born here
- 20th century
- 1919
Born hereBob Fitch is born here - 1928Born hereC. W. McCall is born here
- 1939Born hereHarriet Spanel is born here
- 1957
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 2,928
By decade
Audubon, decade by decade
2021
2020
2018
2017
2014
2004On the map
Audubon on the map, 1957 to 1983
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Audubon. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1957Audubon sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Audubon.
On the National Register
2 listings protect 8 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
8
each building in a district counts
first listed
2003
Audobon County Court House
BuildingsDistricts
Architectural styles listings
Moderne1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Famous people
See all →4 famous people were born in Audubon
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Places that used to be
Places now gone and burying grounds
Audubon’s post office has been open since 1871.
Gone or out of use
Audubonlocale
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Audubon
Aretas LodgeArlington HeightsMaple Grove
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Audubon’s history
What year was Audubon founded?
The Audubon post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1880.
How does Audubon rank for history?
Audubon is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns. 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.
What is on the National Register in Audubon?
Two places: the Audobon County Court House (listed 2003) and the Audubon County Home Historic District (2015).
How old are the homes in Audubon?
28% of Audubon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.1 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1958.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.