Fort Madison dates to 1808, and 38% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 98% of U.S. towns · #3 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
15 places in town are on the National Register, among them four historic districts with 332 buildings between them. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1836.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Fort Madison’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fort Madison is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #3 of 140 in Iowa. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fort Madison’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 Fort Madison’s 340 sits above most of its state (97% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 345 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1808.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.9 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 Fort Madison’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fort Madison was founded as the location of the first U.S. military fort in the upper Mississippi region. A replica of the fort stands along the river. Sheaffer Pens were developed and made in Fort Madison for many years. The city is the location of the Iowa State Penitentiary—the state's maximum security prison for men. Fort Madison is the Mississippi river crossing and station stop for Amtrak's Southwest Chief. Fort Madison has one of two remaining double swing-span bridges on the Mississippi River, the Fort Madison Toll Bridge, the other being the Government Bridge in Rock Island, Illinois. It has a top level for cars and a similar level for trains; it is also the world's largest.
Passages that mention Fort Madison, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Lee County, Iowa1879 · page 596Read the page →
Read the text
The town of Fort Madison was incorporated by special act, passed at the second session of the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature and approved January 19, 1838. Section 1 provided "that all that portion of territory which is included in a survey made by and under the authority of the United States, and which is known and designated as the town of Fort Madison, containing about six hundred and forty acres of land in the county of Lee, in said Territory, be.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Lee County, Iowa1879 · page 445Read the page →
Read the text
interests of Fort Madison, and in making this bond, they virtually become security for the President and Trustees of the incorporation of the town of Fort Madison. The ordinance referred to was as follows : " Be it ordained by the President and Trustees of the Town of Fort Madison, that the sum of f8,000 be appropriated out of the funds of the corporation for the purpose of erecting a Court House in the Town of Fort Madison (provided that the county seat of Lee County be located in said town). Peter Millsr, Prtiident, Robert Wtmak, Recorder.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Lee county, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c.1879Read the page →
Read the text
The first settler in what is now the city of Fort Madison, was Peter Williams, who made a claim in 1832, and built a cabin about four or five hundred yards below the old fort. The country not yet being open to settlement, soldiers were sent down from Fort Armstrong (now Rock Island), and Peter's cabin was •demolished Av-hile he was taken across the river.
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
Fort Madison, 1808 to 1975
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Fort Madison. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1936Fort Madison sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Fort Madison.
Every building
Fort Madison, building by building, 1884–1919
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.
Fort Madison’s post office has been open since 1836.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Aztec Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Fort Madisonmilitary
9cemeteries and burying grounds inside Fort Madison
ElmwoodFort Madison CityHillcrest Memorial ParkHoffmeisterIowa State PrisonJohn Box GroundsOaklandOaklandSacred Heart
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Fort Madison’s history
What year was Fort Madison founded?
In 1808, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Fort Madison’s post office opened in 1836, and the census of 1850 counted 1,509 people here.
How does Fort Madison rank for history?
Fort Madison is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #3 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 Fort Madison?
15 listings: 11 buildings, among them the Lee County Courthouse (listed 1976, the first), 4 historic districts with 332 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 345 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Fort Madison?
38% of Fort Madison’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.9 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 (3), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (16), 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), 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.
