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HoughtonIowaCatholicChurchPhoto: PopePompus · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Houghton

Houghton’s post office opened in 1881

Most of Houghton was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Below: maps from 1981 on and the census since 1970.

1881first post office
0on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: PopePompus · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Houghton began

When was Houghton founded?

1881

The Houghton post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 119 in 19702020 census: 141145 years
Founding year: the first Houghton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Houghton’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 Houghton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Houghton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Houghton’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

Houghton, in brief

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

Houghton is a city in Lee County, Iowa, United States. The population was 141 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Fort Madison-Keokuk Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1881. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 146 to 141 (-3%).

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

By decade

Houghton, decade by decade

Today4 recent
HoughtonIowaCityPark2024HoughtonIowaCityParkHoughtonIowaCatholicChurch2024HoughtonIowaCatholicChurchHoughtonIowaPopPlot2021HoughtonIowaPopPlotIAMap-doton-Houghton2004IAMap-doton-Houghton
On the map

Houghton on the map in 1981

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

Houghton on the 1981 USGS map1981Salem 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 Houghton.

People over time

Houghton, census by census

0100198020002020Peak: 146

Between 119 and 146 people in every census since 1970.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Houghton

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

See all →
J
James A. Van AllenAmerican astrophysicist · b. 1914
Dennis O'KeefeAmerican actor · b. 1908
Nedra VolzAmerican actress · b. 1908
Ryan BowenAmerican basketball player/coach · b. 1975
J
Jerry WinholtzOlympic wrestler · b. 1874
Samuel M. ShortridgeAmerican politician · b. 1861
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Houghton’s post office has been open since 1881.

Gone or out of use
Houghtonlocale

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

Questions about Houghton’s history

What year was Houghton founded?

The Houghton post office opened in 1881, 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.