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History · Donnellson

Donnellson’s post office opened in 1871, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Donnellson Depot. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1968 on, and the census since 1880.

1871first post office
1on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Donnellson’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Donnellson began

When was Donnellson founded?

1871

The Donnellson post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 82 in 18802020 census: 885155 years
Founding year: the first Donnellson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Donnellson’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Donnellson’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewWomen sitting at the train depot in Don…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Donnellson came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Donnellson.

Read it all →

What would be Donnellson was first surveyed by H. A. Summers for Esten Donnell, for who the town would be named. Esten’s son, W. R. Donnell helped construct the first buildings in Donnellson, and served as the railroad agent and post master. The town would begin to grow after the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad passed through to town. Donnellson was incorporated on October 25, 1892. At this time Donnellson was around 120 acres and 200 residents.

In 1897 Donnellson had had its first firehouse. From 1900 to 1910 the town grew quickly, with a telephone system, cheese factory, electric light plant, and water system being constructed.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Donnellson, 1871 to 1968

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Donnellson post office opens
  3. 1883Born hereLaura van Pappelendam is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1906Born hereRoxie Lawson is born here
  6. 1910In the archiveWomen sitting at the train depot in Donnellson, Iowa, 1910s
  7. 1968On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Donnellson, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Women sitting at the train depot in Donnellson, Iowa, 1910s1910Women sitting at the train depot in Donnellson, Iowa,…
1920s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today4 recent
DonnellsonIowaPopPlot2021DonnellsonIowaPopPlotClsdharold2015ClsdharoldDonnellson iowa2007Donnellson iowaIAMap-doton-Donnellson2004IAMap-doton-Donnellson
On the map

Donnellson on the map, 1968 to 1982

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

Donnellson on the 1968 USGS mapDonnellson on the 1982 USGS map1968Donnellson 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 Donnellson.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Women sitting at the train depot in Donnellson, Iowa, 1910s
Retake this viewWomen sitting at the train depot in Donnellson, Iowa, 1910s, 1910

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Donnellson’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Donnellson

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2025
Donnellson Depot
Donnellson Depot
Buildings
All 1 listings
Donnellson DepotBuilding · listed 2025

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Donnellson, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 972

Between 82 and 972 people in every census since 1880.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Donnellson

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
L
Laura van PappelendamAmerican artist · b. 1883
R
Roxie LawsonAmerican baseball player · b. 1906
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Donnellson’s post office has been open since 1871.

Gone or out of use
Donnellsonlocale

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

Questions about Donnellson’s history

What year was Donnellson founded?

The Donnellson post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Donnellson?

One place: the Donnellson Depot (listed 2025).

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 (5), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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) 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.