Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1978 on, and the census since 1880.
The Goldfield post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
From Wikipedia’s history of Goldfield.
A post office called Goldfield has been in operation since 1856. Brassfield was the name of a pioneer settler, but it was decided that Goldfield sounded like a more suitable placename.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Goldfield, cut from the printed page as they were published.
![On Deceiuber 26, 1836, Ansel D. P.raslield was "sworn in" as ])ostmaster at the newly created postoffice of Goldfield, Wright county, Iowa, his commission being the second one issued in this count w Goldfield was platted It would a )l)ear frotn he above record that th all recei\'ec the same a](https://images.townratings.com/story/5664/bk-85eb7aad9a5a83e6-l.jpg)
On Deceiuber 26, 1836, Ansel D. P.raslield was "sworn in" as ])ostmaster at the newly created postoffice of Goldfield, Wright county, Iowa, his commission being the second one issued in this count w Goldfield was platted It would a )l)ear frotn he above record that th all recei\'ec the same a
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
diagonally from northeast to .southwest, making a junction with ISoone ri\-er ne.ar Thrall, a station point on the Chicago & Xorthwestern railway. In Kjio Liberty township had a population of 1,230, including a jiart of the town of Goldfield. It is an excellent agricultural district and land has gone to high prices during the last decade. The towns of Goldfield and Thrall are situateil in Libert)' townshij). The railroads of the township are the Cliicago & Xortb Western and the Chicago X; Rock Island lines. For accounts oi the churches, lodges and schools, see separate chapters on these
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Goldfield. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Goldfield.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Goldfield’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 99 and 789 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Goldfield’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Goldfield itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
The Goldfield post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
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 (6), 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.
1987
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1987
1987
1987