Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Bevington

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Bevington

Bevington’s post office opened in 1872, and 56% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1951 on and the census since 1920.

1872first post office
0on the National Register
56%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: PopePompus · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Bevington began, and where its name came from

When was Bevington founded?

1872

The Bevington post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 71 in 19202020 census: 57154 years

How did Bevington get its name?

Bevington was named for C. D. Bevington, a prominent local businessman.

Founding year: the first Bevington post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

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

Start Bevington’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bevington’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 Bevington came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bevington.

Read it all →

Bevington was laid out in 1872. It was named for C. D. Bevington, a prominent local businessman.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Bevington in 1915

Passages that mention Bevington, cut from the printed page as they were published.

C. D. Bevington was one of the chief promoters and builders of this branch of the Rock Island. When constructed, it was named the Des Moines, Winterset & Southwestern Railroad, and when the company for its construction was organized Doctor Bevington became its president. It was uncfer his personal …
History of Madison County, Iowa, and its people1915 · page 174Read the page →
Read the text

C. D. Bevington was one of the chief promoters and builders of this branch of the Rock Island. When constructed, it was named the Des Moines, Winterset & Southwestern Railroad, and when the company for its construction was organized Doctor Bevington became its president. It was uncfer his personal supervision that the line was completed from Summerset to Winterset — a distance of twenty-six miles. The work was all paid for within seven months and when finished, trains stopped at the depot, which stood in the east part of town, on North Ninth Street. Southeast of it on a side track, was erected a large elevator,

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.

By decade

Bevington, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Central Iowa to move (15)2024Central Iowa to move (15)Central Iowa to move (14)2024Central Iowa to move (14)Central Iowa to move (13)2024Central Iowa to move (13)Central Iowa to move (12)2024Central Iowa to move (12)BevingtonIowaPopPlot2021BevingtonIowaPopPlotIAMap-doton-Bevington2004IAMap-doton-Bevington
On the map

Bevington on the map, 1951 to 1983

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

Bevington on the 1951 USGS mapBevington on the 1983 USGS map1951St Charles 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 Bevington.

People over time

Bevington, census by census

0192019401960198020002020Peak: 71

Between 35 and 71 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Bevington’s post office has been open since 1872.

Gone or out of use
Bevingtonlocale

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

Questions about Bevington’s history

What year was Bevington founded?

The Bevington post office opened in 1872, 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 (6), Wikipedia, 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.