Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Its Register listings are the First Congregational Church, the I.O.O.F. Hall and the Garnavillo Township Culvert. Its Register listings are the First Congregational Church, the I.O.O.F. Hall and the Garnavillo Township Culvert. Below: old-book passages.
The Garnavillo post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Prairie Laporte (1839) and Jacksonville (1843), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Garnavillo’s history is told.
Garnavillo’s post office has been open since 1846. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereEdward B. Watson is born here
Born hereMarion Murdoch is born hereWikipedia doesn’t have a history of Garnavillo yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Garnavillo is a city in Clayton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 763 at the time of the 2020 census, up from 754 in 2000.
Its first post office opened in 1846. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 745 to 763 (+2%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Garnavillo, cut from the printed page as they were published.
a train running to the depot within a week or two. Elkader was not content with this service, however, and, in 1879, a committee was appointed to examine a route to connect with the Volga branch at Mederville. Garnavillo also had longings for rail connection with the outside world and at a meeting held in February, 1878, Crosby, Linton and Kregal were appointed to examine the feasibility of a line from Garnavillo down Buck creek and, at a second meeting, Judge Williams offered to extend the narrow gauge to Garnavillo, if that city would
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The postal news shows mail twice a week, from Dubuque to Garnavillo, and from Garnavillo to Prairie du Chien. Also weekly mails from Garnavillo to Hardin and from Patch Grove, Wisconsin, to Garnavillo. The southern mail, from Tipton to Prairie du Chien via Anamosa, Delhi, Elkader and Garnavillo arrived on Sunday, from Tipton, and returned on Monday from Prairie du Chien. The county officers are given as follows : Elias H. Williams, county judge ; Robert R. Read, recorder and treasurer; Dr. F. Andros, clerk; S. Murdock,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
each from an Ohio nursery. He planted his at the foot of the bluff near his residence, and within tenor twelve rods of the Mississippi, in the village of Clayton, and I planted mine on the prairie in the village of Garnavillo; in less than ten years mine were entirely gone; his are still bearing and apparently healthy; same varieties, among which is the rambo. The distance apart in the two local¬ ities, in a direct line, is not more than five miles.
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.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
The Garnavillo post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Three places: the First Congregational Church (listed 1977), the I.O.O.F. Hall (1979) and the Garnavillo Township Culvert (1998).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
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