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History · Cumberland

Cumberland’s post office opened in 1885, and 69% of its homes were built before 1940

1885first post office
0on the National Register
69%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Cumberland began

When was Cumberland founded?

1885

The Cumberland post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 251141 years
Founding year: the first Cumberland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Cumberland’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 Cumberland are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Cumberland’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cumberland’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cumberland’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Cumberland, in brief

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

Cumberland is a city in Cass County, Iowa, United States that was founded in 1884. The population was 251 at the time of the 2020 census. Cumberland's sister community is Massena, Iowa.

Its first post office opened in 1885. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 262 to 251 (-4%).

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

By decade

Cumberland, decade by decade

Today3 recent
CumberlandIowaPopPlot2021CumberlandIowaPopPlotCumberlandIowa2006CumberlandIowaIAMap-doton-Cumberland2004IAMap-doton-Cumberland
Famous people

Famous people close to Cumberland

Nobody well known was born in Cumberland itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Henry A. WallaceAmerican politician (1888–1965); Vice President… · b. 1888
Johnny CarsonAmerican talk show host and comedian · b. 1925
Fred Lawrence WhippleAmerican astronomer · b. 1906
Joni ErnstAmerican politician · b. 1970
Neville BrandAmerican actor · b. 1920
Raymond HattonAmerican silent film actor · b. 1887
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Cumberland’s post office has been open since 1885.

Gone or out of use
Cumberlandlocale

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

Questions about Cumberland’s history

What year was Cumberland founded?

The Cumberland post office opened in 1885, 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 →
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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), 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.