On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Eagle Grove is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #79 of 140 in Iowa. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Eagle Grove’s overall grade.
Iowa towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Iowa town has 9.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Eagle Grove’s 2.8 sits near the middle of its state (38% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1881.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.4 points).
Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Eagle Grove’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Eagle Grove was platted in 1881. It was named from the eagle nests seen by early settlers in a nearby Oak tree grove perched above the bank of the Boone River. In 1851 Mr. N. B. Paine moved to Wright County, purchased property and constructed a log cabin that stood directly west of the grove. The nest was over six feet in diameter. The eagles settled in the nest in the spring and summer of 1855–56, However, in the spring of 1857 they were shot and killed by a trapper. Thus Eagle Grove was named in honour of these eagles.
On February 2, 1973, a natural gas explosion killed 13 people and leveled the Chatterbox Cafe and the neighboring Coast to Coast hardware store at the southeast corner of Broadway Street and Commerce Avenue.
Passages that mention Eagle Grove, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Wright County, Iowa, its peoples, industries and institutions1915Read the page →
Read the text
When Ivagle firove was incorporated, January 8, 1895, all that part of Eagle Grove township within the cor])orate limits of the town of Eagle Grove, was set off as an independent ci\-il townshi]i: but the bo.ard of supervisors which passed that act forgot to give said ci\il towubhip a name, as
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Wright County, Iowa, its peoples, industries and institutions1915Read the page →
Read the text
Eagle Grove township, as originally bounded, was first settled by William Davis, who remained only about a year, but in 1854 permanent settlements were effected by S. B. tiewett and .son and N. E. Paine.
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
Eagle Grove, 1881 to 1978
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
In 1881, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1890 counted 1,881 people here.
How does Eagle Grove rank for history?
Eagle Grove is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #79 of 140 in Iowa. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Eagle Grove?
One place: the Eagle Grove Public Library (listed 1977).
How old are the homes in Eagle Grove?
40% of Eagle Grove’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.4 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1952.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (5), the Library of Congress (1), 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 USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
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