The story
Read it all →How Garber came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Garber.
Garber, first called East Elkport, was surveyed in 1872 by John Garber, who also served as the first postmaster there.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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History · Garber
Garber dates to 1872, and 85% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 1910.
1872founded
0on the National Register
85%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Garber began
When was Garber founded?
1872
Garber dates its founding to 1872 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.
First census: 131 in 19102020 census: 76154 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1878.The full story ↓
What stands out about Garber’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 Garber are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Garber’s homes were built before 1938.On the map since 19023 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1984. Watch Garber change.Boom and bustPeaked at 189 in 1920; 76 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Garber’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Garber’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Garber on the map, 1902 to 1984
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Garber. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1902Elkader sheet · 1:125,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Garber.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Garber in 1916
Passages that mention Garber, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Clayton County, Iowa1916 · page 322Read the page →
Read the text
was a trader and trapper, was Frederick Hartge, who located in 1842, at what is now Elkport. Asa Gifford and son George, Dennis Quigley, Michael Stence, Bishop and Robert Fuller, Hiram Walbridge, Dan Justice, Christian Sarver, Jacob Rounds and John Garber were pioneer settlers. The first school was taught in 1853 by Martin Garber and the first school house was built in Elkport in 1854. Elders Gififord and Bixby held the first religious services in 1848. The first grist mill was built on Elk Creek in i860, this mill was afterwards owned by A. C.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Clayton County, Iowa1916 · page 248Read the page →
Read the text
floods. In June, 1880, there was a terriffic storm. Bloody Run was flooded, the narrow gauge suffered heavily from washouts at Beulah and St. Olaf, the county bridge at Pony Creek was washed away. Elkport and Osterdock were under water, the Martin Garber farm was badly damaged and the Mississippi was the highest that had been known. At McGregor the river came to the steps of the Flanders house, Guttenberg was an island and railroad traffic was completely suspended. The next great storm was more in the nature of a cyclone,
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
Garber, 1872 to 1920
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1872FoundingGarber is established
- 1878Post officeThe East Elkport post office opens
- 20th century
- 1902
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1907Post officeThe East Elkport post office closes
- 1907Post officeThe Garber post office opens
- 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 189
By decade
Garber, decade by decade
Today1 recent
2021People over time
Garber, census by census
Peaked at 189 in 1920; 76 people lived here in 2020.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Garber’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Garber
Nobody well known was born in Garber itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices and places now gone
Garber’s post office has been open since 1907. Another post office, East Elkport, opened and closed inside today’s town.
East Elkport
Garber
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Garberlocale
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Garber’s history
What year was Garber founded?
In 1872, according to Wikidata. Garber’s post office opened in 1878, and the census of 1910 counted 131 people here.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (1), Wikipedia, 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 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.