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History · Clarence

Clarence’s post office opened in 1862, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Mill Creek Bridge. Below: maps from 1889 on and the census since 1870.

1862first post office
1on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Clarence began

When was Clarence founded?

1862

The Clarence post office opened in 1862, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Onion Grove (1854) and Union Grove (1854), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 726 in 18702020 census: 1,039164 years
Founding year: the first Clarence post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Clarence’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 Clarence are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18893 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1980. Watch Clarence change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Clarence.Old housesHalf of Clarence’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Clarence’s collection

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

Clarence on the map, 1889 to 1980

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

Clarence on the 1889 USGS mapClarence on the 1890 USGS mapClarence on the 1980 USGS map1889Tipton 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 Clarence.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Clarence’s post office has been open since 1862. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Onion Grove
1854–1862
Union Grove
1854–1854
Clarence
1862–today
18501940today

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

The story

How Clarence came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Clarence.

Read it all →

The community was originally called "Onion Grove" because of the widespread growth of wild onions along Mill Creek. The village was moved in order to be close to a railroad line and the name was changed to "Clarence" on the suggestion of Clarence, New York native Richard Gere.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Clarence, 1854 to 1889

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1854Post officeThe Onion Grove post office opens
  3. 1854Post officeThe Union Grove post office opens
  4. 1854Post officeThe Union Grove post office closes
  5. 1862Post officeThe Onion Grove post office closes
  6. 1862Post officeThe Clarence post office opens
  7. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Clarence, decade by decade

Today6 recent
North Cedar Jr Sr High School2025North Cedar Jr Sr High SchoolClarence Iowa Welcome Sign2025Clarence Iowa Welcome SignClarence Iowa Municipal Building2025Clarence Iowa Municipal BuildingClarenceIowaPopPlot2021ClarenceIowaPopPlotClearance Iowa fire station2016Clearance Iowa fire stationIAMap-doton-Clarence2004IAMap-doton-Clarence
On the National Register

1 historic place in Clarence

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
1998
Mill Creek Bridge
Structures

Architectural styles listings

Pinned Pratt Pony Truss1
Mill Creek BridgePinned Pratt Pony Truss

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

People over time

Clarence, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,039

Between 607 and 1,039 people in every census since 1870.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Questions about Clarence’s history

What year was Clarence founded?

The Clarence post office opened in 1862, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Clarence?

One place: the Mill Creek Bridge (listed 1998).

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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.