Iowa City’s post office opened in 1839, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 85% of U.S. towns · #32 of 140 in Iowa State. What drives it
76 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Old Capitol, a National Historic Landmark, and ten historic districts with 829 buildings between them. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1883 on, and the census since 1850.
The Iowa City post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Napoleon (1839), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,250 in 18502020 census: 74,828187 years
How historic is Iowa City?
A
More historic than 85% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Iowa City post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Iowa City’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Iowa City is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #32 of 140 in Iowa State. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Iowa City’s overall grade.
Iowa State towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Iowa State town has 9.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Iowa City’s 121 sits above most of its state (84% of Iowa State towns have fewer) while its 915 historic buildings outnumber those of 98% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. The pre-1940 share (±1.2 points) is firm at this size. 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 Iowa City’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
Iowa City was created by an act of the Legislative Assembly of the Iowa Territory on January 21, 1839, fulfilling the desire of Governor Robert Lucas to move the capital out of Burlington and closer to the center of the territory. This act began:
An Act to locate the Seat of Government of the Territory of Iowa ... so soon as the place shall be selected, and the consent of the United States obtained, the commissioners shall proceed to lay out a town to be called "Iowa City".
Passages that mention Iowa City, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Johnson County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, and its townships, cities and villages from 1836 to 1882. Together with biographical sketches ..1883 · page 727Read the page →
Read the text
June 6, 1871,— Resolved, That the township of Iowa City be divided into two precincts for election purposes, by a line commencing at the west side of said township in the centre of the Snooks Grove road, following said road east to Iowa City, through Iowa City in the center of College street, east of Iowa City on the line of the Griswold road to the east line of the township.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Johnson County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, and its townships, cities and villages from 1836 to 1882. Together with biographical sketches ..1883 · page 634Read the page →
Read the text
township.] February 4, 1878, in response to certain petitions, the county board ordered : That the township of Iowa City be, and the same is hereby divided into two precincts for election purposes by a line commencing in the centre of Iowa Avenue at the western boundary line of said Iowa City township, and running thence east along the center of said avenue to the eastern boundary line of Iowa City township; that all that part of said township
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
When the third constitutional convention assembled at Iowa City in January, 1857, Des Moines had already been selected as the site for the capital and the State University had been put into actual operation at Iowa City. To make the arrangement more binding the convention incorporated this great compromise into the new constitution : The Seat of Government is hereby permanently established, as now-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
In the early years of Iowa City, water courses were still the great channels of tratfic. But, as has already been observed, the location of Iowa City commanded no commercial point of advantage. The traffic of Iowa Citv, therefore, was mostly overland; and before railroads had become the common carrier, this was slow and expensive transportation. Articles of produce and merchandise were hauled overland in ox-wagons to and
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Iowa City, 1839 to 1982
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Iowa City. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1891Iowa City sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Iowa City.
Every building
Iowa City, building by building, 1883–1926
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 Iowa City post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Iowa City rank for history?
Iowa City is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #32 of 140 in Iowa State. 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 Iowa City?
76 listings: 64 buildings, among them the Old Capitol (a National Historic Landmark since 1976), and 12 historic districts with 829 contributing buildings. 915 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Iowa City?
12% of Iowa City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa State town; the median home was built in 1985.
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 the Library of Congress (4), the National Register of Historic Places (76), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
★ Landmark
![township.] February 4, 1878, in response to certain petitions, the county board ordered : That the township of Iowa City be, and the same is hereby divided into two precincts for election purposes by a line commencing in the centre of Iowa Avenue at the western boundary line of said Iowa City towns…](https://images.townratings.com/story/5971/bk-9d23ef16bc4507bf-l.jpg)
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