Founding year: the first Earlham post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Earlham’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Earlham is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Earlham’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 Earlham’s 19.6 sits above most of its state (69% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Earlham’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
David Hockett brought his wife, Mary Jane, and three children to the Earlham area by ox team and wagon in 1865. They settled on 200 acres where Earlham stands today. By deeding a land string to the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad and selling a third of his acres for town development in 1869,[1] Hockett was instrumental in the founding of Earlham, when it was incorporated on April 26, 1870. The city was named after Earlham College, a Quaker college in Richmond, Indiana.
Passages that mention Earlham, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Madison County, Iowa, and its people1915 · page 221Read the page →
Read the text
year 1853, when Jesse Painter and wife settled about midway between the present locations of the towns of Peru and Barney, in the southeast part of the county, and Richard Cook and wife, in Madison Township, just north of the present Town of Earlham, in the northwest part of the county. These were the beginnings of two Friends settlements, which later developed into Oak Run Monthly Meeting, in the southeast part, and North Branch and Earlham Monthly Meetings, in the northwest part of the county.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Madison County, Iowa, and its people1915 · page 98Read the page →
Read the text
THE FRIENDS There are two localities in Madison County where there are quite a number belonging to this church. Earlham and vicinity was largely settled by them and that unusually fine body of land extending from the west part of Madison Township eastward is called "Quaker Divide" because so many of the early farmers belonged to that church. The Town of Earlham from the start has had a large number of this faith and among its adherents may be found some of the most prominent citizens. The town itself was named in honor of Earlham College in
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History and business directory of Madison County, Iowa. Containing a complete history of the county1869 · page 180Read the page →
Read the text
The lively little railroad town of Earlham is also located in this township, of which we speak more fully elsewhere. The farmers located here, especially the Friends on "Quaker Divide," have paid much attention to the raising of fine stock.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History and business directory of Madison County, Iowa. Containing a complete history of the county1869 · page 184Read the page →
Read the text
granite. Mr. P. has a force of twenty-five or thirty men quarrying the rock and dressing it on the ground, ready for shipment. We understand that he has secured the contract for building the Railroad depot at Earlham of this stone. He has erected a patent lime kiln near the quarry, and will be able to turn off a car load of lime daily, when he gets the thing in running order.
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
Earlham, 1869 to 1900
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Questions about Earlham’s history
What year was Earlham founded?
The Earlham post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Earlham rank for history?
Earlham is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns. 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 Earlham?
Two places: the Earlham Public School (listed 1982) and the Bricker-Price Block (2017).
How old are the homes in Earlham?
31% of Earlham’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.7 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
2017
2016
2015
2014
2004