Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1895 on and the census since 1870.
The Kirkville post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Kirkville’s history is told.
Peaked at 714 in 1890; 157 people lived here in 2020.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Kirkville’s Wikipedia page.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Kirkville yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Kirkville is a city in Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 157 at the time of the 2020 census.
Its first post office opened in 1849. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 167 to 157 (-6%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Kirkville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
This village lies on Sections 7 and 8, Town 73 north. Range 14 west, in Richland Township. Richland was one of the first townships organized in the county, in 1844. The village of Kirkville has grown up because of the excellence of the country roundabout and the thickness of the settlements in the township. Richland had, in 1875, 1,411 inhabitants. Kirkville has two church organizations, the Methodist Episcopal being the elder. The Methodist Episcopal society was organized by Rev. Thomas Kirkpatrick, about 1844, and was incorporated in 1852. The first house was built in 1852-53. The present
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
to Agencv and for four vears was there established in the grocery business, selling out at the end of that time. For the next two years he acted as bailifif and then was for two years employed in a clerical capacitv in Kirkville. At the end of that time he joined the staff of the Hightman Coal Company, with whom he remained for four vears, returning to Kirkville at the end of that time. He established himself in the grocer\' business in Kirkville and has since built up a profitable trade, showing busi-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Kirkville is in Richland township, one of the first organized (in 1844) in the county, and is a rich agricultural region. The first religious society organized was the Methodist church by Rev. Thomas M. Kirkpatrick, in 1844; the first church building was erected in 1852; the next was dedicated in 1870. Kirkville became prosperous during the period that
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Kirkville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Kirkville.
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.
1895Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
The Kirkville post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (3), 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.
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