2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 12 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1901 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Coon Rapids post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Coon Rapids’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Coon Rapids is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Coon Rapids’ 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 Coon Rapids’ 88.6 sits above most of its state (83% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 13 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.9 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 Coon Rapids’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Crocket Ribble and Jacob Cretsinger, residents of Carrollton (the county seat of Carroll County at the time), decided to try their hand in real estate. They purchased land along the Middle Raccoon River, built a saw and grist mill and went into business in 1864. Between the impact of the Civil War and later national panics, frontier settlement slowed down. However, the partners were able to establish a post office, named Coon Rapids; it soon became a stop for stagecoach service to Sioux City. Returning civil war veterans, William Minnich and his brother-in-law, Michael Shettler, saw potential in the hamlet. After purchasing land, they submitted a plat for the village of Coon Rapids and built what would become a store-hotel and home for the Shettler family. Minnich maintained his farm in adjoining Guthrie County. Between 1870 and 1880, the hamlet grew as former farmers became merchants a…
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.
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.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Coon Rapids, census by census
Between 54 and 1,676 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Coon Rapids’ Wikipedia page.
Questions about Coon Rapids’ history
What year was Coon Rapids founded?
The Coon Rapids post office opened in 1864, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Coon Rapids rank for history?
Coon Rapids is more historic than 83% 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.
What is on the National Register in Coon Rapids?
Two places: the Roswell and Elizabeth Garst Farmstead Historic District (listed 2009) and the Armour Creameries Poultry House (2011).
How old are the homes in Coon Rapids?
47% of Coon Rapids’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.9 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1943.
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 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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