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History · Harper

Harper’s post office opened in 1872, and 50% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1965 on and the census since 1880.

1872first post office
0on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: PopePompus · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Harper began

When was Harper founded?

1872

The Harper post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 254 in 18802020 census: 118154 years
Founding year: the first Harper post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Harper’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 Harper are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Harper’s homes were built before 1940.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Harper’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Harper’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

Harper, in brief

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

Harper is a city in Keokuk County, Iowa, United States. The population was 118 at the time of the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1872. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 114 to 118 (+4%).

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

By decade

Harper, decade by decade

Today4 recent
HarperIowaCityPark2025HarperIowaCityParkHarperIowaAerialView2025HarperIowaAerialViewHarperIowaPopPlot2021HarperIowaPopPlotIAMap-doton-Harper2004IAMap-doton-Harper
On the map

Harper on the map, 1965 to 1982

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

Harper on the 1965 USGS mapHarper on the 1982 USGS map1965Harper 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 Harper.

People over time

Harper, census by census

010020030018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 269

Between 114 and 269 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Harper’s post office has been open since 1872.

Gone or out of use
Harperlocale

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

Questions about Harper’s history

What year was Harper founded?

The Harper post office opened in 1872, 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), 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.