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C−History
History · Johnston

Johnston dates to 1905, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 21% of U.S. towns · #124 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it

Most of Johnston was built recently: 0.7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2004. Below: maps from 1905 on and the census since 1970.

1905founded
2on the National Register
0.7%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Johnston began, and where its name came from

When was Johnston founded?

1905

Johnston dates its founding to 1905 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1970.

First census: 222 in 19702020 census: 24,064121 years

How did Johnston get its name?

Johnston was named for the railway's freight supervisor, John F. Johnston.

How historic is Johnston?

C−

More historic than 21% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1858. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Johnston’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Johnston is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #124 of 140 in Iowa. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Johnston’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19400.7% of homes (±0.5) · typical IA town 21.6% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register2 listings, 3 historic buildings, 1.2 per 10,000 residents · typical IA town 9.1 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 21%
NewerOlder
Iowa towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 12%

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 Johnston’s 1.2 sits near the middle of its state (35% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.5 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1905.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Johnston’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 Johnston are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Johnston, and 1 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19054 editions of the USGS map, 1905 to 1971. Watch Johnston change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Johnston’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Johnston’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Johnston’s post office has been open since 1909. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Kirkwood
1858–1864
Ridgedale
1858–1902
Ayers Grove
1880–1882
Johnston
1909–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Camp Dodge
Gone or out of use
Ayers Grove Post Officepost officeCamp Dodge StationlocaleDodge AirportairportKirkwood Post Officepost officeRidgedalelocaleRidgedale Post Officepost office
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Johnston
KinseyRidgedaleRittgersRittgersValley View

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

On the map

Johnston on the map, 1905 to 1971

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

Johnston on the 1905 USGS mapJohnston on the 1956 USGS mapJohnston on the 1967 USGS mapJohnston on the 1971 USGS map1905Des Moines 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 Johnston.

The story

How Johnston came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Johnston.

Read it all →

Johnston was established in 1905 as a station on the Des Moines & Central Iowa Railway between Des Moines and Perry known as Johnston Station. It was named for the railway's freight supervisor, John F. Johnston. Passenger service along the railroad ended in 1949, and the track has subsequently been removed within city limits.

Voters passed a resolution to incorporate on June 23, 1969. On September 8, the first Mayor and Council were sworn in. Incorporation papers were signed by the Clerk of the District Court on December 11, 1969.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Johnston, 1858 to 1986

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858Post officeThe Kirkwood post office opens
  3. 1858Post officeThe Ridgedale post office opens
  4. 1864Post officeThe Kirkwood post office closes
  5. 1880Post officeThe Ayers Grove post office opens
  6. 1882Post officeThe Ayers Grove post office closes
  7. 20th century
  8. 1902Post officeThe Ridgedale post office closes
  9. 1905
    FoundingJohnston is established
  10. 1905On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1986Born hereChad Costello is born here
By decade

Johnston, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Updown2021UpdownJHS20172017JHS2017Paul J and Ida Trier House2014Paul J and Ida Trier HouseLightning bolt2014Lightning boltJohnston welcome sign2010Johnston welcome signIAMap-doton-Johnston2004IAMap-doton-Johnston
On the National Register

2 historic places in Johnston

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1988
Paul J. and Ida Trier House
Paul J. and Ida Trier HouseCamp Dodge Pool District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Wrightian1
Late 19th and Early 20th Century Movements1
Paul J. and Ida Trier HouseWrightian
Camp Dodge Pool DistrictLate 19th and Early 20th Century Movements

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Johnston, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00019802000202024,064

Grew from 222 people in 1970 to 24,064 in 2020, more than tenfold.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Urbandale2 historic placesC−GrimesIts storyC−

Questions about Johnston’s history

What year was Johnston founded?

In 1905, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Johnston’s post office opened in 1858, and the census of 1970 counted 222 people here.

How does Johnston rank for history?

Johnston is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #124 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 Johnston?

Two places: the Paul J. and Ida Trier House (listed 1988) and the Camp Dodge Pool District (1995).

How old are the homes in Johnston?

0.7% of Johnston’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 2004.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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) 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.