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History · Breda

Breda dates to 1877, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1980 on and the census since 1880.

1877founded
0on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Breda began, and where its name came from

When was Breda founded?

1877

Breda dates its founding to 1877 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 109 in 18802020 census: 500149 years

How did Breda get its name?

Breda was named after the Dutch city of Breda by a settler native to that place.

Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1878. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Breda’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 Breda are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Breda’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Breda’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Breda’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

How Breda came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Breda.

Read it all →

Breda got its start in the year 1877, following construction of the Maple branch of the Chicago and North Western railroad through that territory. It was named after the Dutch city of Breda by a settler native to that place.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Breda, 1877 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1877
    FoundingBreda is established
  3. 1878Post officeThe Breda post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1980On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Breda, decade by decade

Today4 recent
BredaIowaPopPlot2021BredaIowaPopPlotBreda, IA2020Breda, IAThe MoveIt Companies Office Building2010The MoveIt Companies Office BuildingIAMap-doton-Breda2004IAMap-doton-Breda
On the map

Breda on the map in 1980

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

Breda on the 1980 USGS map1980Breda 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 Breda.

People over time

Breda, census by census

010020030040050060018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 543

Between 109 and 543 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Breda’s post office has been open since 1878.

Gone or out of use
Bredalocale
1cemetery inside Breda
Saint Bernards

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

Questions about Breda’s history

What year was Breda founded?

In 1877, according to Wikidata. Breda’s post office opened in 1878, and the census of 1880 counted 109 people here.

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 (4), 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.