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History · Hartford

Hartford dates to 1849, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1910 on and the census since 1880.

1849founded
0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Photo: PopePompus · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Hartford began

When was Hartford founded?

1849

Hartford dates its founding to 1849 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 267 in 18802020 census: 733177 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1854.The full story ↓

What stands out about Hartford’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 Hartford are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1849: 177 years of Hartford.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hartford’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hartford’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
Timeline

Hartford, 1849 to 1932

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1849
    FoundingHartford is established
  3. 1854Post officeThe Hartford post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1910On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1932Born hereStephen Tyler is born here
The story

How Hartford came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hartford.

Read it all →

Hartford was laid out in 1849 by John D. Hartman. John D. Hartman was the father of an Indianola mayor.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Hartford in 1879

Passages that mention Hartford, cut from the printed page as they were published.

After living for some time in Ohio, he came to Warren county, Iowa, in 1846, and settled in Richland township, where he entered a tract of land from the government and laid out the town of Hartford. His attention was divided between agricultural pursuits, milling and merchandising, his mill and sto…
The history of Warren County, Iowa1879 · page 402Read the page →
Read the text

After living for some time in Ohio, he came to Warren county, Iowa, in 1846, and settled in Richland township, where he entered a tract of land from the government and laid out the town of Hartford. His attention was divided between agricultural pursuits, milling and merchandising, his mill and store being located in Richland. He prospered in his undertakings by reason of his capable management and keen discernment and had accumulated a comfortable competence when in October, 1878, he was called to his final rest, at the age of sixty-seven years. Of the Baptist church he was aa active, influontinl and

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

Hartford, decade by decade

Today6 recent
HartfordIowaWelcomeSign2025HartfordIowaWelcomeSignHartfordIowaFireDeptCityHall2025HartfordIowaFireDeptCityHallHartfordIowaCityPark2025HartfordIowaCityParkHartfordIowaPopPlot2021HartfordIowaPopPlotWarren County Iowa Road Sign Fillmore 240th 2019-21312019Warren County Iowa Road Sign Fillmore 240th 2019-2131IAMap-doton-Hartford2004IAMap-doton-Hartford
On the map

Hartford on the map, 1910 to 1965

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

Hartford on the 1910 USGS mapHartford on the 1965 USGS map1910Milo 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 Hartford.

People over time

Hartford, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 771

Between 207 and 771 people in every census since 1880.

12 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Hartford’s post office has been open since 1854.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Hartford Mobile Home Park
1cemetery inside Hartford
Hartford

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

Questions about Hartford’s history

What year was Hartford founded?

In 1849, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Hartford’s post office opened in 1854, and the census of 1880 counted 267 people here.

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 (6), 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.