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B−History
History · Center Point

Center Point dates to 1854, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 54% of U.S. towns · #99 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it

Its Register listing is the WCF & N Center Point Depot and Substation. Below: maps from 1888 on and the census since 1870.

1854founded
1on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Center Point began

When was Center Point founded?

1854

Center Point dates its founding to 1854 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 443 in 18702020 census: 2,579172 years

How historic is Center Point?

B−

More historic than 54% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1844.
History grade

What drives Center Point’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Center Point is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #99 of 140 in Iowa. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Center Point’s overall grade.
Founding era1854, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194020.9% of homes (±7.6) · typical IA town 21.6% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register1 listing, 3.9 per 10,000 residents · typical IA town 9.1 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 54%
NewerOlder
Iowa towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 29%

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 Center Point’s 3.9 sits near the middle of its state (42% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1854.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.6 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). 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 Center Point’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 Center Point are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18884 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1982. Watch Center Point change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Center Point’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Center Point’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
On the map

Center Point on the map, 1888 to 1982

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

Center Point on the 1888 USGS mapCenter Point on the 1899 USGS mapCenter Point on the 1968 USGS mapCenter Point on the 1982 USGS map1888Shellsburg 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 Center Point.

The story so far

Center Point, in brief

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

Center Point is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,579 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Center Point was established in 1854. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,421 to 2,579 (+7%).

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

Timeline

Center Point, 1844 to 1915

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1844Post officeThe Centre Point post office opens
  3. 1854
    FoundingCenter Point is established
  4. 1854Born hereStephen R. Fitzgarrald is born here
  5. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1893Post officeThe Centre Point post office closes
  7. 1893Post officeThe Center Point post office opens
  8. 20th century
  9. 1914BuiltWCF & N Center Point Depot and Substation is built
  10. 1915Born hereBenton J. Underwood is born here
By decade

Center Point, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Center PointIowaPopPlot2021Center PointIowaPopPlotWCF & N Center Point Depot and Substation2018WCF & N Center Point Depot and SubstationCedar View Bridge2008Cedar View BridgeIAMap-doton-CenterPoint2004IAMap-doton-CenterPoint
On the National Register

1 historic place in Center Point

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2018
WCF & N Center Point Depot and Substation
WCF & N Center Point Depot and Substation, built 1914
Buildings
WCF & N Center Point Depot and SubstationBuilt 1914

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Center Point, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,500188019001920194019601980200020202,579

Grew from 443 people in 1870 to 2,579 in 2020, 5 times over.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Center Point

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Stephen R. FitzgarraldAmerican politician · b. 1854
B
Benton J. UnderwoodAmerican psychologist · b. 1915
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Center Point’s post office has been open since 1893. Another post office, Centre Point, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Centre Point
1844–1893
Center Point
1893–today
18401930today
Gone or out of use
Center Pointlocale
1cemetery inside Center Point
Center Point

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

Questions about Center Point’s history

What year was Center Point founded?

In 1854, according to Wikidata. Center Point’s post office opened in 1844, and the census of 1870 counted 443 people here.

How does Center Point rank for history?

Center Point is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #99 of 140 in Iowa. 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 Center Point?

One place: the WCF & N Center Point Depot and Substation (listed 2018).

How old are the homes in Center Point?

21% of Center Point’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.6 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1977.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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) 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.