Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1865.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Humboldt’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Humboldt is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #82 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 Humboldt’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 Humboldt’s 8.4 sits near the middle of its state (54% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% 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 (±4.9 points). Two sources give 1863.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Humboldt’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.
Frank A. Gotch Park (just south of present-day Humboldt and Dakota City) was the location of prehistoric and some Dakota Indian villages, near where the two forks of the Des Moines River meet. During westward expansion in the 1800s, this area is thought to have been the location of a fort/trading post called Fort Confederation. According to federal records, in 1825, permission was granted to build the fort to trade with the Ihanktonwan Dakota (Yankton Sioux) Indians. Information about the exact details of the fort are unclear, such as if American, French Canadian, or Metis traders built it, bringing up many questions about this fort.
In 1863, according to Wikidata. Humboldt’s post office opened in 1865, and the census of 1870 counted 335 people here.
How does Humboldt rank for history?
Humboldt is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #82 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 Humboldt?
4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Humboldt Free Public Library (listed 1983, the first), and 1 structure.
How old are the homes in Humboldt?
23% of Humboldt’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.9 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1968.
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 (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.
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