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History · Cromwell

Cromwell’s post office opened in 1869, and 50% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1981 on and the census since 1880.

1869first post office
0on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Cromwell began

When was Cromwell founded?

1869

The Cromwell post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 189 in 18802020 census: 105157 years
Founding year: the first Cromwell post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Cromwell’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 Cromwell are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Cromwell’s homes were built before 1950.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cromwell’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cromwell’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 so far

Cromwell, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Cromwell yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Cromwell is a city in Union County, Iowa, United States. The population was 105 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1869. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 107 in 2010, 105 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Cromwell, decade by decade

Today3 recent
CromwellIowaPopPlot2021CromwellIowaPopPlotCromwell, IA2019Cromwell, IAIAMap-doton-Cromwell2004IAMap-doton-Cromwell
On the map

Cromwell on the map, 1981 to 1993

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cromwell. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Cromwell on the 1981 USGS mapCromwell on the 1993 USGS map1981Creston West 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 Cromwell.

People over time

Cromwell, census by census

010020018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 208

Between 105 and 208 people in every census since 1880.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Questions about Cromwell’s history

What year was Cromwell founded?

The Cromwell post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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), 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.