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History · Hawkeye

Hawkeye’s post office opened in 1869, and 49% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1901 on and the census since 1900.

1869first post office
0on the National Register
49%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Hawkeye began

When was Hawkeye founded?

1869

The Hawkeye post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 518 in 19002020 census: 438157 years
Founding year: the first Hawkeye post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Hawkeye’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 Hawkeye are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Hawkeye’s homes were built before 1945.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hawkeye’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hawkeye’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

Hawkeye, in brief

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

Hawkeye is a city in Fayette County, Iowa, United States. The population was 438 at the time of the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1869. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 449 to 438 (-2%).

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

By decade

Hawkeye, decade by decade

Today3 recent
HawkeyeIowaPopPlot2021HawkeyeIowaPopPlotOld Boy Scout Photo2007Old Boy Scout PhotoIAMap-doton-Hawkeye2004IAMap-doton-Hawkeye
On the map

Hawkeye on the map, 1901 to 1981

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

Hawkeye on the 1901 USGS mapHawkeye on the 1981 USGS map1901Oelwein sheet · 1:125,000

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

People over time

Hawkeye, census by census

01002003004005006001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 582

Between 438 and 582 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Hawkeye

Nobody well known was born in Hawkeye itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Dick WagnerAmerican guitarist · b. 1942
Greg GanskeAmerican politician · b. 1949
J
John Francis KinneyCatholic bishop · b. 1937
Theodore B. WernerAmerican congressman for South Dakota · b. 1892
Carleton H. WrightUnited States Navy admiral · b. 1892
T
Tom BenderAustralian basketball player · b. 1944
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Hawkeye’s post office has been open since 1869.

Gone or out of use
Hawkeyelocale

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

Questions about Hawkeye’s history

What year was Hawkeye founded?

The Hawkeye post office opened in 1869, 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 →
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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), 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.