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History · Bagley

Bagley’s post office opened in 1882, and 65% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1954 on and the census since 1900.

1882first post office
0on the National Register
65%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Mostly Iowa Edits · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Bagley began

When was Bagley founded?

1882

The Bagley post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 355 in 19002020 census: 233144 years
Founding year: the first Bagley post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Bagley’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 Bagley are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Bagley’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 505 in 1920; 233 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bagley’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Bagley came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bagley.

Read it all →

Bagley had its start in the year 1881 by the building of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad through that territory.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Bagley, census by census

01002003004005001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 505

Peaked at 505 in 1920; 233 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Timeline

Bagley, 1882 to 1954

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1882Post officeThe Bagley post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1920Born hereAnn Darr is born here
  5. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 505
  6. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Bagley, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Bagley Iowa Welcome Sign2025Bagley Iowa Welcome SignBagley Iowa UMC Church2025Bagley Iowa UMC ChurchBagley Iowa Public Library2025Bagley Iowa Public LibraryBagleyIowaPopPlot2021BagleyIowaPopPlotIAMap-doton-Bagley2004IAMap-doton-Bagley
On the map

Bagley on the map, 1954 to 1993

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

Bagley on the 1954 USGS mapBagley on the 1982 USGS mapBagley on the 1993 USGS map1954Bagley 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 Bagley.

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Bagley’s post office has been open since 1882.

Gone or out of use
Bagleylocale

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

Questions about Bagley’s history

What year was Bagley founded?

The Bagley post office opened in 1882, 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 Wikimedia Commons (5), 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) 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.