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History · Hastings

Hastings’ post office opened in 1871, and 65% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1886 on and the census since 1880.

1871first post office
0on the National Register
65%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Hastings began

When was Hastings founded?

1871

The Hastings post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1872.

First census: 440 in 18802020 census: 152155 years
Founding year: the first Hastings post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1872.The full story ↓

What stands out about Hastings’ 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 Hastings are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Hastings’ homes were built before 1938.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1886 to 1909, drew every building in Hastings.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hastings’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hastings’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 Hastings came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hastings.

Read it all →

Hastings got its start in the year 1872, following construction of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad through the territory.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Every building

Hastings, building by building, 1886–1909

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Hastings fire insurance map, 1886, sheet 11886Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Hastings, 1871 to 1985

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Hastings post office opens
  3. 1877Born hereCharles Burton Robbins is born here
  4. 1889Born hereG. C. Greenwalt is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1903Born hereOtha Wearin is born here
  7. 1985On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Hastings, decade by decade

Today3 recent
HastingsIowaPopPlot2021HastingsIowaPopPlotHastings, IA2017Hastings, IAIAMap-doton-Hastings2004IAMap-doton-Hastings
On the map

Hastings on the map in 1985

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hastings.

Hastings on the 1985 USGS map1985Omaha sheet · 1:100,000

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

People over time

Hastings, census by census

010020030040018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 440

Between 152 and 440 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Hastings

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

See all →
Otha WearinAmerican politician · b. 1903
C
Charles Burton RobbinsAmerican Colonel and Undersecretary of War · b. 1877
G
G. C. GreenwaltAmerican politician · b. 1889

Questions about Hastings’ history

What year was Hastings founded?

The Hastings post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1872.

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 (3), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.