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History · Delta

Delta’s post office opened in 1876, and 64% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1965 on and the census since 1880.

1876first post office
0on the National Register
64%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: PopePompus · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Delta began

When was Delta founded?

1876

The Delta post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 416 in 18802020 census: 264150 years
Founding year: the first Delta post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Delta’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 Delta are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Delta’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 728 in 1910; 264 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Delta’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Delta’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

Delta, in brief

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

Delta is a city in Keokuk County, Iowa, United States. The population was 264 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1876. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 328 to 264 (-20%).

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

People over time

Delta, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 728

Peaked at 728 in 1910; 264 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Delta, 1880–1903

Passages that mention Delta, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Mr. Hogin bought the drug store of Dr. 0. C. Wilson, in the then young and flourishing town of Delta, which he has conducted with signal success up to the present time owing to his fine early training and having adapted himself to the business; by energy and
The history of Keokuk County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c., a biographical directory of its citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion, history of the Northwest, history of Iowa, map of Keokuk County .1880 · page 717Read the page →
Read the text

Mr. Hogin bought the drug store of Dr. 0. C. Wilson, in the then young and flourishing town of Delta, which he has conducted with signal success up to the present time owing to his fine early training and having adapted himself to the business; by energy and

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
On May 29, 1877, block No. 2. in town of Delta, was selected by a committee of the board as a site for the new school-biiilding. It was afterward purchased for the sum of $i.50. Tlie school-liouse is sixty feet long, forty feet wide and two stories high. It contains four rooms; two thirty feet long…
The history of Keokuk County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c., a biographical directory of its citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion, history of the Northwest, history of Iowa, map of Keokuk County .1880 · page 561Read the page →
Read the text

On May 29, 1877, block No. 2. in town of Delta, was selected by a committee of the board as a site for the new school-biiilding. It was afterward purchased for the sum of $i.50. Tlie school-liouse is sixty feet long, forty feet wide and two stories high. It contains four rooms; two thirty feet long and twenty-seven feet wide; two twenty-eight feet long and t«Kenty-five tjeet wide. Besides these there are four cloak rooms or entries, two halls and a basement. The building is heated by stoves, well ventilated and lighted. Benjamin J. Bartlett, an architect of Des Moines, furnished

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
In 1882 Mr. Schriever removed to the town of Delta, where he remained about a year in the drug business, and then came to Richland, where he has since resided. He was first in partnership with Henry Burns about five years, then be bought that gentleman's interest and has since conducted the busines…
A genealogical and biographical history of Keokuk County, Iowa ..1903 · page 541Read the page →
Read the text

In 1882 Mr. Schriever removed to the town of Delta, where he remained about a year in the drug business, and then came to Richland, where he has since resided. He was first in partnership with Henry Burns about five years, then be bought that gentleman's interest and has since conducted the business alone. During the Civil war Mr.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Delta, 1876 to 1965

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1876Post officeThe Delta post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 728
  5. 1943Born hereLyle Krewson is born here
  6. 1965On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Delta, decade by decade

Today5 recent
DeltaIowaWaterTower2025DeltaIowaWaterTowerDeltaIowaCommunityCenter2025DeltaIowaCommunityCenterDeltaIowaChristianChurch2025DeltaIowaChristianChurchDeltaIowaPopPlot2021DeltaIowaPopPlotIAMap-doton-Delta2004IAMap-doton-Delta
On the map

Delta on the map, 1965 to 1982

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

Delta on the 1965 USGS mapDelta on the 1982 USGS map1965Delta 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 Delta.

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Delta’s post office has been open since 1876.

Gone or out of use
Deltalocale

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

Questions about Delta’s history

What year was Delta founded?

The Delta post office opened in 1876, 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 (5), 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.