The community of Greene was first a postal area called, "Elm Springs" that was established in 1855 three miles southwest of the current town on Coldwater Creek. In 1871, the railroad selected a site on the east side of the Shell Rock River for a train depot and roundhouse, drawing the Elm Springs Post Office and community to that site. In 1871, the postal area name was changed from Elm Springs to Greene in honor of Judge George Greene, president of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Minnesota railroad who, along with J. W. Traer and others, purchased the land for the new community. Judge Greene gave generously of land and money for the new town. In 1879, the Greene postal area was incorporated as The Town of Greene.
Passages that mention Greene, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Butler County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement1914 · page 290Read the page →
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berry erected a farm house on the site of which was ei'ected some years later the Ball hardware building. In the latter part of 1871, when the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Minnesota Railroad was completed throiigh Greene, the proper authorities of the road purchased the interests of the Eikenberrys in one hundred and sixty acres of this land, which was laid out and jjlatted into town lots by the railroad officials. The new trading point, in honor of Judge George Greene, of Duliuque. president of the road, was
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History of Butler County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement1914Read the page →
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In 1866 a third district Avas created in the southeastern ])art of the township. About the same tune district No. 4, including within its limits the town of Greene, was set ofL" and a log schoolhouse built. In 1871 a frame building, erected at a cost of $800, took the place of this log sehoolhouse. and this continued to be used until 1873, when the independent school district of Greene was organized. The first teacher in district No. 3 was Miss Mary Clark, and in district No. 4, Rudolph Landis.
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Greene, 1855 to 1972
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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 (3), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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), 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.
![In 1866 a third district Avas created in the southeastern ])art of the township. About the same tune district No. 4, including within its limits the town of Greene, was set ofL" and a log schoolhouse built. In 1871 a frame building, erected at a cost of $800, took the place of this log sehoolhouse.…](https://images.townratings.com/story/5671/bk-00591702a001517e-l.jpg)
Date?
2021
2021
2004
