Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Conway

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Conway

Conway dates to 1872, and 63% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1980 on and the census since 1880.

1872founded
0on the National Register
63%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Conway began

When was Conway founded?

1872

Conway dates its founding to 1872 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 423 in 18802020 census: 17154 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1867.The full story ↓

What stands out about Conway’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 Conway are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Conway’s homes were built before 1938.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Conway.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Conway’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Conway’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
The story

How Conway came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Conway.

Read it all →

Conway was laid out 1872 by the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad. The B&M was acquired later than year by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. The town was incorporated in 1878.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Conway had its own post office from 1892 to 1960. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Jenks
1867–1870
Conwa
1872–1892
Conway
1892–1960
18601940today
Gone or out of use
ConwaylocaleConway Post Officepost office

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

Timeline

Conway, 1867 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1867Post officeThe Jenks post office opens
  3. 1870Post officeThe Jenks post office closes
  4. 1872
    FoundingConway is established
  5. 1872Post officeThe Conwa post office opens
  6. 1878Born hereMike Welday is born here
  7. 1892Post officeThe Conwa post office closes
  8. 1892Post officeThe Conway post office opens
  9. 20th century
  10. 1960Post officeThe Conway post office closes
  11. 1980On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Conway, decade by decade

Today3 recent
ConwayIowaPopPlot2021ConwayIowaPopPlotConway, IA2019Conway, IAIAMap-doton-Conway2004IAMap-doton-Conway
On the map

Conway on the map in 1980

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Conway.

Conway on the 1980 USGS map1980Conway sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Conway.

People over time

Conway, census by census

010020030040018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 423

Between 17 and 423 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Questions about Conway’s history

What year was Conway founded?

In 1872, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Conway’s post office opened in 1867, and the census of 1880 counted 423 people here.

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 (3), 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) 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.