Hawarden’s post office opened in 1882, and 33% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns · #75 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Charles M. and Emma M. Fischer Fleshman House and the Hawarden City Hall, Fire Station and Auditorium. Its Register listings are the Charles M. and Emma M. Fischer Fleshman House and the Hawarden City Hall, Fire Station and Auditorium. Below: maps from 1899 on and the census since 1890.
Founding year: the first Hawarden post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hawarden’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hawarden is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #75 of 140 in Iowa. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hawarden’s overall grade.
Iowa towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Iowa town has 9.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Hawarden’s 7.5 sits near the middle of its state (52% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Hawarden’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
The origins of Hawarden can be traced to Calliope, an early settlement along the Big Sioux River approximately one mile north of the present city center. Sioux County was organized in 1860, and a settlement developed at Calliope in 1861. A log courthouse was constructed near the river, serving as the center of county government. The settlement was reportedly named by early county organizer Frederick M. Hubbell after a steam-powered calliope he had heard aboard a riverboat.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Hawarden, census by census
Between 744 and 2,789 people in every census since 1890.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Hawarden’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Places now gone and burying grounds
Hawarden’s post office has been open since 1882.
Gone or out of use
CalliopelocaleCalliope Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Hawarden
CalvaryGrace Hill
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Hawarden’s history
What year was Hawarden founded?
The Hawarden post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Hawarden rank for history?
Hawarden is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #75 of 140 in Iowa. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Hawarden?
Two places: the Charles M. and Emma M. Fischer Fleshman House (listed 1993) and the Hawarden City Hall, Fire Station and Auditorium (2009).
How old are the homes in Hawarden?
33% of Hawarden’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.7 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1970.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
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