The Clarksville post office opened in 1861, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Leoni (1855), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 818 in 18802020 census: 1,264165 years
How historic is Clarksville?
B−
More historic than 52% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Clarksville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Clarksville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clarksville is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Clarksville’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 Clarksville’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (17% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.3 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 Clarksville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Clarksville yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Clarksville is a city in Butler County, Iowa, United States, along the Shell Rock River. The population was 1,264 at the 2020 census. A post office opened in Clarksville in 1861.
Its first post office opened in 1861. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,439 to 1,264 (-12%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Clarksville in 1914
Passages that mention Clarksville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Butler County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement1914 · page 84Read the page →
Read the text
the claim of D. C. Hilton as the spot Avhere the future courthouse should be built. This spot was marked by an oak stake, which was driven into the ground on section 18, Butler township, on the spot where the Clarksville schoolhouse now stands. A compromise was arranged between the Hiltons and the Clarks, whereby the latter were given a half interest in forty acres later platted as the town of Clarksville. Reference to the copy of the record filed with the county court with the plat of this village, Avhich is
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Butler County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement1914 · page 265Read the page →
Read the text
the winter, supplied them with the necessary food. Mr. Poisal later sold this first claim to Daniel Mather and purchased the northeast quarter of section 18, which in 1855 he laid out as an addition to the village of Clarksville. Here he resided until the date of his death. He always occupied a high place in the esteem of his friends and associates and was honored with election to the office of coimty judge of Butler county in the first election held.
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
Clarksville, 1855 to 1997
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Clarksville’s post office has been open since 1861. Another post office, Leoni, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Leoni
1855–1861
Clarksville
1861–today
18501940today
1cemetery inside Clarksville
Old Town
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Clarksville’s history
What year was Clarksville founded?
The Clarksville post office opened in 1861, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Clarksville rank for history?
Clarksville is more historic than 52% 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.
How old are the homes in Clarksville?
45% of Clarksville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.3 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1950.
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 (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 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.
2021
2008
2004
