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History · Guernsey

Guernsey’s post office opened in 1884, and 75% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1968 on and the census since 1910.

1884first post office
0on the National Register
75%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Mostly Iowa Edits · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Guernsey began, and where its name came from

When was Guernsey founded?

1884

The Guernsey post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 143 in 19102020 census: 63142 years

How did Guernsey get its name?

Guernsey was named after Guernsey County, Ohio.

Founding year: the first Guernsey post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Guernsey’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 Guernsey are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Guernsey’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 177 in 1930; 63 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Guernsey’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Guernsey’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

How Guernsey came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Guernsey.

Read it all →

Guernsey was platted in 1884. It was named after Guernsey County, Ohio. A post office was first established in Guernsey in 1884.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Guernsey, census by census

0100192019401960198020002020Peak: 177

Peaked at 177 in 1930; 63 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Timeline

Guernsey, 1884 to 1968

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1884Post officeThe Guernsey post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 177
  5. 1957Post officeThe Guernsey post office closes
  6. 1968On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Guernsey, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Welcome Sign2025Welcome SignThe Guernsey Church2025The Guernsey ChurchGuernseyIowaPopPlot2021GuernseyIowaPopPlotIAMap-doton-Guernsey2004IAMap-doton-Guernsey
On the map

Guernsey on the map, 1968 to 1984

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

Guernsey on the 1968 USGS mapGuernsey on the 1984 USGS map1968Victor 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 Guernsey.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Guernsey had its own post office from 1884 to 1957.

Guernsey
1884–1957
18801950today
Gone or out of use
GuernseylocaleGuernsey Post Officepost office

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

Questions about Guernsey’s history

What year was Guernsey founded?

The Guernsey post office opened in 1884, 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 (4), Wikipedia, 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.