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History · Bayard

Bayard’s post office opened in 1882, and 54% of its homes were built before 1940

1882first post office
0on the National Register
54%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Mostly Iowa Edits · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Bayard began

When was Bayard founded?

1882

The Bayard post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1883.

2020 census: 405144 years
Founding year: the first Bayard post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1883.

What stands out about Bayard’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 Bayard are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Bayard’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bayard’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Bayard, in brief

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

Bayard is a city in Guthrie County, Iowa, United States. The population was 405 in the 2020 census, a decline from 536 in 2000 census. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1882. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 471 to 405 (-14%).

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

By decade

Bayard, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Bayard Iowa Public Library2025Bayard Iowa Public LibraryBayard Iowa Community Center2025Bayard Iowa Community CenterBayard Iowa City Park2025Bayard Iowa City ParkBayardIowaPopPlot2021BayardIowaPopPlotIAMap-doton-Bayard2004IAMap-doton-Bayard

Questions about Bayard’s history

What year was Bayard founded?

The Bayard post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1883.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.