Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1965 on and the census since 1870.
Batavia dates its founding to 1846 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1870.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Batavia’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Batavia yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Batavia is a city in Jefferson County, Iowa, United States. The population was 430 at the 2020 census. It was established in 1846.
Batavia was established in 1846. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 499 to 430 (-14%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Batavia’s post office has been open since 1873. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Passages that mention Batavia, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Batavia was incorporated as a town in the year 1868, and the first election was held March 13, of the same year. M. S. Frisbie was elected Mayor; Caspar Durr, Recorder ; C. W. Chase, Treasurer. The following-named gentlemen were elected members of the first Council: V. S. Carson, H Chase and a Mr. Graham. At the first meeting of the Council, W. P. Webb was appointed to serve in the double capacity of Marshal and Street Commissioner. He resigned, however, and John Brown was chosen to fill the vacancy.
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Batavia. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Batavia.
Between 307 and 560 people in every census since 1870.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Batavia’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Batavia itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
In 1846, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Batavia’s post office opened in 1851, and the census of 1870 counted 310 people here.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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), 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.
2021
2016
2016
2013
2004
