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Jamaica Iowa 20080118 SignPhoto: Ashton B Crew · CC BY-SA 3.0
–Not graded
History · Jamaica

Jamaica’s post office opened in 1882, and 52% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1954 on and the census since 1910.

1882first post office
0on the National Register
52%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Ashton B Crew · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Jamaica began

When was Jamaica founded?

1882

The Jamaica post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 379 in 19102020 census: 195144 years
Founding year: the first Jamaica post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Jamaica’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 Jamaica are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Jamaica’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Jamaica’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Jamaica’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

How Jamaica came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Jamaica.

Read it all →

A local historian named Bruce F. Towne published a short book entitled "Bricks on the Chimney", which discusses the origins and history of Jamaica. Towne was a local grocery store owner for several decades, a business founded by his father in the early 1900s. In March 1921, Maylen M. Heater was Jamaica's first traffic victim when his car overturned just west of town. He was the vice president of his father's bank. On July 4, 1919, Clarence Kinney and his son Guy tragically drowned in the high waters of the Raccoon River near the old saw mill. In 1921, the local garage was destroyed by fire when a local resident believed his Model T was leaking gas. He crawled under the automobile and lit a match, which resulted in an explosion. In the 1930s, the flu epidemic killed several local residents.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Jamaica, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Jamaica Iowa 20080118 Sign2009Jamaica Iowa 20080118 SignJamaica Iowa 20080118 Post Office2009Jamaica Iowa 20080118 Post OfficeJamaica Iowa 20080118 Library2009Jamaica Iowa 20080118 LibraryJamaica Iowa 20080118 Community Center2009Jamaica Iowa 20080118 Community CenterJamaica Iowa 20080118 City Hall2009Jamaica Iowa 20080118 City HallIAMap-doton-Jamaica2004IAMap-doton-Jamaica
On the map

Jamaica on the map, 1954 to 1993

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

Jamaica on the 1954 USGS mapJamaica on the 1982 USGS mapJamaica on the 1993 USGS map1954Bagley 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 Jamaica.

People over time

Jamaica, census by census

0100200300400192019401960198020002020Peak: 379

Between 195 and 379 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Jamaica’s post office has been open since 1882.

Gone or out of use
Jamaicalocale

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

Questions about Jamaica’s history

What year was Jamaica founded?

The Jamaica post office opened in 1882, 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 (6), Wikipedia, 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.