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History · Graf

Graf’s post office opened in 1898, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1901 on and the census since 1940.

1898first post office
0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Graf began

When was Graf founded?

1898

The Graf post office opened in 1898, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 37 in 19402020 census: 76128 years
Founding year: the first Graf post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

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

Start Graf’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Graf’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

Graf, in brief

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

Graf is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States. It is part of the 'Dubuque, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area'. The population was 76 at the time of the 2020 census, up from 73 in 2000.

Its first post office opened in 1898. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 79 to 76 (-4%).

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

Timeline

Graf, 1898 to 1955

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1898Post officeThe Graf post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1901On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1955Post officeThe Graf post office closes
By decade

Graf, decade by decade

Today2 recent
GrafIowaPopPlot2021GrafIowaPopPlotIAMap-doton-Graf2004IAMap-doton-Graf
On the map

Graf on the map, 1901 to 1984

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

Graf on the 1901 USGS mapGraf on the 1984 USGS map1901Peosta sheet · 1:125,000

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

People over time

Graf, census by census

010019401960198020002020Peak: 98

Between 37 and 98 people in every census since 1940.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Graf

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

See all →
Kate MulgrewAmerican actress · b. 1955
Margaret LindsayAmerican actress · b. 1910
D
David DrakeAmerican author of science fiction and fantasy … · b. 1945
Kayla BanwarthAmerican volleyball player and coach · b. 1989
D
Donald Ryder DickeyAmerican ornithologist · b. 1887
Red Faber(1888-1976) American baseball player and coach · b. 1888
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Graf had its own post office from 1898 to 1955.

Graf
1898–1955
18901960today
Gone or out of use
GraflocaleGraf Post Officepost office

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

Questions about Graf’s history

What year was Graf founded?

The Graf post office opened in 1898, 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 →
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 (2), 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.