Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Bode

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 · Bode

Bode’s post office opened in 1882, and 47% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1980 on and the census since 1900.

1882first post office
0on the National Register
47%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Bode began

When was Bode founded?

1882

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

First census: 409 in 19002020 census: 302144 years
Founding year: the first Bode post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Bode’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 Bode are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 533 in 1940; 302 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Bode’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bode’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bode’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
People over time

Bode, census by census

01002003004005001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 533

Peaked at 533 in 1940; 302 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story

How Bode came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bode.

Read it all →

Bode got its start in the year 1881, following construction of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway through that territory.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bode, 1882 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1882Post officeThe Bode post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 533
  5. 1980On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Bode, decade by decade

Today2 recent
BodeIowaPopPlot2021BodeIowaPopPlotIAMap-doton-Bode2004IAMap-doton-Bode
On the map

Bode on the map in 1980

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bode.

Bode on the 1980 USGS map1980Bode sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bode.

Famous people

Famous people close to Bode

Nobody well known was born in Bode itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
C
Christian ClemensonAmerican actor · b. 1958
Hank WordenAmerican actor · b. 1901
Harry ReasonerAmerican journalist · b. 1923
Frank GotchAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1877
Archie StoutAmerican cinematographer · b. 1886
J
James V. SchallAmerican academic · b. 1928

Questions about Bode’s history

What year was Bode founded?

The Bode 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 (2), Wikipedia, 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.