Its Register listings are the Brooklyn Hotel, the William Manatt House and the Brooklyn Opera House–Broadway Theatre. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1860.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Brooklyn is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Brooklyn’s overall grade.
Iowa towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Iowa town has 9.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Brooklyn’s 20.6 sits above most of its state (69% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.9 points).
Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Brooklyn’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1894Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
The story so far
Brooklyn, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Brooklyn yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Brooklyn is a city in Poweshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,502 at the 2020 census. It is located just off U.S. Route 6 and a few miles north of Interstate 80. Near the center of town, Brooklyn boasts a large display of flags from each of the fifty states, branches of the military, and a smattering of other sources. The city bills itself as "Brooklyn: Community of Flags."
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,468 to 1,502 (+2%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Brooklyn in 1880
Passages that mention Brooklyn, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The History of Poweshiek County, Iowa1880 · page 312Read the page →
Read the text
A number of persons by the name of Manatt settled in the vicinity of the Bear Creek Grove at an early day. They owned the original site of the town of Brooklyn, in the neighborhood of which they still have extensive possessions, and an addition to the town of Brooklyn is called Manatt’s Addition in honor of William Manatt, who formerly owned the land upon which that town is located. The Manatts were formerly from Holmes county, Ohio, whence they emigrated to this county during the year 1845 or 1846.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The History of Poweshiek County, Iowa1880 · page 563Read the page →
Read the text
Brooklyn is situated on the main line of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, 105 miles west of Davenport, and is at the end of two divisions, the “ Eastern Iowa Division,” which extends from Brooklyn to Rock Island, and the “ Central Iowa Division,” which extends from Brooklyn west to Stuart. The city is well represented in all departments of business usually found in places of its size.
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.
Timeline
Brooklyn, 1869 to 1980
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Another post office, West Brooklyn, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Lone Pine Mobile Home Court
1cemetery inside Brooklyn
Calvary
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Brooklyn’s history
How does Brooklyn rank for history?
Brooklyn is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Brooklyn?
Three places: the Brooklyn Hotel (listed 1979), the William Manatt House (1997) and the Brooklyn Opera House–Broadway Theatre (2021).
How old are the homes in Brooklyn?
46% of Brooklyn’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.9 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1955.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
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