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History · Cushing

Cushing’s post office opened in 1883, and 58% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1969 on and the census since 1900.

1883first post office
0on the National Register
58%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Cushing began

When was Cushing founded?

1883

The Cushing post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Penrose (1883), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 237 in 19002020 census: 230143 years
Founding year: the first Cushing post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

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

Start Cushing’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cushing’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 Cushing came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cushing.

Read it all →

A post office called Cushing has been in operation since 1883. The city was named for L. Cushing Kimball, brother of a railroad official.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Cushing, 1883 to 1969

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883Post officeThe Cushing post office opens
  3. 1883Post officeThe Penrose post office opens
  4. 1883Post officeThe Penrose post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1969On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Cushing, decade by decade

Today3 recent
CushingIowaPopPlot2021CushingIowaPopPlotUntitled photo2012Untitled photoIAMap-doton-Cushing2004IAMap-doton-Cushing
On the map

Cushing on the map, 1969 to 1985

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

Cushing on the 1969 USGS mapCushing on the 1985 USGS map1969Cushing 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 Cushing.

People over time

Cushing, census by census

01002003001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 286

Between 204 and 286 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Cushing’s post office has been open since 1883. Another post office, Penrose, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Cushing
1883–today
Penrose
1883–1883
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Cushinglocale

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

Questions about Cushing’s history

What year was Cushing founded?

The Cushing post office opened in 1883, 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), Wikipedia, 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.