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History · Fruitland

Fruitland’s post office opened in 1880

Most of Fruitland was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Below: maps from 1948 on and the census since 1980.

1880first post office
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: PopePompus · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Fruitland began

When was Fruitland founded?

1880

The Fruitland post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 461 in 19802020 census: 963146 years
Founding year: the first Fruitland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

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

Start Fruitland’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Fruitland’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 so far

Fruitland, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Fruitland yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Fruitland is a city in Muscatine County, Iowa, United States. The population was 963 at the time of the 2020 census. It is part of the Muscatine Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1880. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 977 in 2010, 963 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Fruitland, decade by decade

Today5 recent
FruitlandIAWelcomeSign2025FruitlandIAWelcomeSignFruitlandIADrakePark2025FruitlandIADrakeParkFruitlandIACityHall2025FruitlandIACityHallFruitlandIowaPopPlot2021FruitlandIowaPopPlotIAMap-doton-Fruitland2004IAMap-doton-Fruitland
On the map

Fruitland on the map, 1948 to 1984

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

Fruitland on the 1948 USGS mapFruitland on the 1984 USGS map1948Muscatine 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 Fruitland.

People over time

Fruitland, census by census

02004006008001,000198020002020Peak: 977

Between 461 and 977 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Fruitland

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

See all →
Charles Fox ParhamAmerican Charismatic preacher · b. 1873
Max Allan CollinsAmerican writer · b. 1948
Ellis Parker ButlerAmerican writer · b. 1869
Eddy ChandlerActor · b. 1894
J
Joe WieskampAmerican basketball player · b. 1999
Charles E. WinterAmerican politician · b. 1870

Questions about Fruitland’s history

What year was Fruitland founded?

The Fruitland post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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), 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.