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B−History
History · George

George’s post office opened in 1887, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 45% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1971 on and the census since 1900.

1887first post office
0on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How George began

When was George founded?

1887

The George post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 394 in 19002020 census: 1,077139 years

How historic is George?

B−

More historic than 45% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first George post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives George’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, George is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of George’s overall grade.
Founding era1887, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194029.1% of homes (±8.0) · typical IA town 21.6% · U.S. 8.4%A−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical IA town 9.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 45%
NewerOlder

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 George’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (17% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.0 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 George’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 George are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of George’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start George’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how George’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

George, in brief

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

George is a city in Lyon County, Iowa, United States, along the Little Rock River. The population was 1,077 at the time of the 2020 census. The ZIP Code for George is 51237.

Its first post office opened in 1887. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,080 in 2010, 1,077 in 2020.

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

Timeline

George, 1887 to 1971

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887Post officeThe George post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1938Born hereBob Locker is born here
  5. 1938Born hereRo Foege is born here
  6. 1971On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

George, decade by decade

Today2 recent
GeorgeIowaPopPlot2021GeorgeIowaPopPlotIAMap-doton-George2004IAMap-doton-George
On the map

George on the map in 1971

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of George.

George on the 1971 USGS map1971George West sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of George.

People over time

George, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,241

Between 394 and 1,241 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in George

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Bob LockerAmerican baseball player · b. 1938
R
Ro FoegeAmerican politician · b. 1938
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

George’s post office has been open since 1887.

Gone or out of use
Georgelocale
1cemetery inside George
Evergreen

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about George’s history

What year was George founded?

The George post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does George rank for history?

George is more historic than 45% 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.

How old are the homes in George?

29% of George’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.0 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1955.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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).

From Wikimedia Commons (2), 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) 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.