Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1869. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Creston’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Creston is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #70 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 Creston’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 Creston’s 5.4 sits near the middle of its state (46% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.8 points). Two sources give 1868.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Creston’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.
Creston was originally settled in 1868 as a survey camp for the Burlington and Missouri Railroad. It was named for the fact that it was on the crest of the railroad line between the Missouri and Mississippi river basins. The area was developed largely for agriculture, with related industries accompanying it. Creston had a flour mill in the early decades of the 20th century. The town was officially established in 1869 and incorporated in 1871.
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.
In 1868, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Creston’s post office opened in 1869, and the census of 1870 counted 411 people here.
How does Creston rank for history?
Creston is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #70 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 Creston?
4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad-Creston Station (listed 1973, the first).
How old are the homes in Creston?
36% of Creston’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1961.
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), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.
1908
1908
1921
