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History · Dunkerton

Dunkerton dates to 1853, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Dunkerton Bridge. Below: maps from 1971 on and the census since 1900.

1853founded
1on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Dunkerton began

When was Dunkerton founded?

1853

Dunkerton dates its founding to 1853 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 217 in 19002020 census: 842173 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1886.The full story ↓

What stands out about Dunkerton’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 Dunkerton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dunkerton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dunkerton’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

How Dunkerton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dunkerton.

Read it all →

The story of the settling of Lester Township, Black Hawk County, Iowa, begins with the arrival of Jonathan Owen and his wife Hannah to Illinois in 1850 where land was selling for $20 an acre. The Owens sent their son, Eli, on to Iowa where the land was cheaper. Eli staked his claim on 40 acres in what is now Lester Township, four miles north of the current town of Dunkerton. The following year Jonathan Owen, Philander Canfield, and Alonzo Barber came from Illinois and staked their claims for land in Lester Township at the Federal Land Office Dubuque for $1.25 an acre. In 1853, the Owen family, Philander Canfield, and Alonzo Barber came from Illinois with ox-drawn wagons to settle in the area. More families arrived in 1854–1855.

ChaptersAttractions

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Dunkerton, 1853 to 1971

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1853
    FoundingDunkerton is established
  3. 1886Post officeThe Dunkerton post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1971On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Dunkerton, decade by decade

Today3 recent
DunkertonIowaPopPlot2021DunkertonIowaPopPlotDunkerton High School2018Dunkerton High SchoolIAMap-doton-Dunkerton2004IAMap-doton-Dunkerton
On the map

Dunkerton on the map, 1971 to 1984

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

Dunkerton on the 1971 USGS mapDunkerton on the 1984 USGS map1971Dunkerton 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 Dunkerton.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Dunkerton

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
1998
Dunkerton Bridge
Dunkerton Bridge
Structures

Architectural styles listings

Concrete Filled Spandrel Arch1
Dunkerton BridgeConcrete Filled Spandrel Arch

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

People over time

Dunkerton, census by census

02004006008001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 852

Between 217 and 852 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Dunkerton

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

See all →
Michelle MonaghanAmerican actress · b. 1976
Lou Henry HooverFirst Lady of the United States from 1929 to 19… · b. 1874
M
Michele BachmannAmerican politician · b. 1956
Julie AdamsAmerican actress · b. 1926
Chuck GrassleyUnited States Senator from Iowa since 1981 · b. 1933
Marc AndreessenAmerican entrepreneur, investor, and software e… · b. 1971

Questions about Dunkerton’s history

What year was Dunkerton founded?

In 1853, according to Wikidata. Dunkerton’s post office opened in 1886, and the census of 1900 counted 217 people here.

What is on the National Register in Dunkerton?

One place: the Dunkerton Bridge (listed 1998).

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