Clarion’s post office opened in 1867, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns · #90 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Wright County Courthouse and the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railroad Passenger Station. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1896 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: the first Clarion post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Clarion’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clarion is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #90 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 Clarion’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 Clarion’s 7.2 sits near the middle of its state (51% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
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 (±7.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Clarion’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.
Wright County held its first court sessions in 1855 in a privately owned log cabin west of present-day Eagle Grove. In 1858, the county seat was located at Liberty, where a two-story frame courthouse was built. The county seat moved to Clarion in 1866, and the county's first courthouse in Clarion was built across the street from the northeast corner of the public square. That building was later incorporated into the Avondale Hotel.
The present Wright County Courthouse was constructed in 1891 and 1892 at a cost of about $50,000. It was designed by W.R. Parsons & Son and built by E.D. Jones & Co. The courthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981 as part of the County Courthouses in Iowa Thematic Resource.
Passages that mention Clarion, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History and business directory of Wright County, State of Iowa1870Read the page →
Read the text
are distinct to render it one of the most desirable places in the county. In addition to the splendid tchool-house just completed in the town of Clarion (June, 1870), the township has two others, both of which are well attended. There is but one stream in the township, the White Fox, which enters on the east side and leaves on the west, and which is well supplied with water the whole year round. There is
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Wright County, Iowa, its peoples, industries and institutions1915Read the page →
Read the text
Clarion township, as originally boundeil, b.ad, in 1870, two buildings, besides the splendid one at Clarion town. \^ernon tmvnship had tw-o school houses in 1870.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Wright County, Iowa, its peoples, industries and institutions1915Read the page →
Read the text
organized, not being made a separate township for civil purposes until in 1883. It comprises congressional township 91, range 24 west, except sections s and 6 and parts of sections 7 and 8, which are a part of the present irregular township of Clarion. The record (-board session of April, 1883) says concernint,^ the forniatiun and iKumdary lines of the township: "It is hereby orderetl thai the following shall constitute the civil townships of \Vright county (including the new township of Lincoln): Township 90, range 23, shall constitute \"ernon civil township.
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
Clarion, 1867 to 1987
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.
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.
The Clarion post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Clarion rank for history?
Clarion is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #90 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 Clarion?
Two places: the Wright County Courthouse (listed 1981) and the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railroad Passenger Station (1988).
How old are the homes in Clarion?
23% of Clarion’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.8 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1965.
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 (5), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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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