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CHistory
History · Granger

Granger’s post office opened in 1885, and 10% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 27% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1911 on and the census since 1910.

1885first post office
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Richc80 · CC BY 3.0
Quick answers

How Granger began

When was Granger founded?

1885

The Granger post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 225 in 19102020 census: 1,654141 years

How historic is Granger?

C

More historic than 27% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Granger’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Granger is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Granger’s overall grade.
Founding era1885, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194010.4% of homes (±4.3) · typical IA town 21.6% · U.S. 8.4%B−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 27%
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 Granger’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 C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.3 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 Granger’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 Granger are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19113 editions of the USGS map, 1911 to 1976. Watch Granger change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Granger’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Granger’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
On the map

Granger on the map, 1911 to 1976

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

Granger on the 1911 USGS mapGranger on the 1965 USGS mapGranger on the 1976 USGS map1911Madrid sheet · 1:62,500

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

The story so far

Granger, in brief

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

Granger is a city in Dallas and Polk counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 1,654 at the time of the 2020 census, up 184% from 583 in 2000. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1885. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,244 to 1,654 (+33%).

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

Timeline

Granger, 1885 to 1982

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1885Post officeThe Granger post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1911On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1977Born hereEric Jones is born here
  6. 1982Born hereQuinn Sypniewski is born here
By decade

Granger, decade by decade

Today6 recent
GrangerIowaPopPlot2021GrangerIowaPopPlotGranger Iowa 20090607 Post Office2009Granger Iowa 20090607 Post OfficeGranger Iowa 20090607 Library2009Granger Iowa 20090607 LibraryGranger Iowa 20090607 Fire Station2009Granger Iowa 20090607 Fire StationGranger Iowa 20090607 City Hall2009Granger Iowa 20090607 City HallIAMap-doton-Granger2004IAMap-doton-Granger
People over time

Granger, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,8001920194019601980200020201,654

Grew from 225 people in 1910 to 1,654 in 2020, 7 times over.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Granger

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

See all →
E
Eric JonesAmerican racing driver · b. 1977
Q
Quinn SypniewskiAmerican football player · b. 1982
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Granger’s post office has been open since 1885.

Gone or out of use
Grangerlocale

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

Questions about Granger’s history

What year was Granger founded?

The Granger post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Granger rank for history?

Granger is more historic than 27% 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 Granger?

10% of Granger’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.3 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 2007.

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 (6), 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.