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History · Ladora

Ladora’s post office opened in 1862, and 56% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Ladora Savings Bank. Below: maps from 1965 on and the census since 1880.

1862first post office
1on the National Register
56%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Ladora began

When was Ladora founded?

1862

The Ladora post office opened in 1862, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 211 in 18802020 census: 229164 years
Founding year: the first Ladora post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Ladora’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 Ladora are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Ladora’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 340 in 1920; 229 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ladora’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ladora’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 so far

Ladora, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Ladora yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Ladora is a city in Iowa County, Iowa, United States. The population was 229 at the time of the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1862. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 283 to 229 (-19%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

People over time

Ladora, census by census

010020030018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 340

Peaked at 340 in 1920; 229 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Timeline

Ladora, 1862 to 2008

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1862Post officeThe Ladora post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1905Born hereMildred Benson is born here
  5. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 340
  6. 1965On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 21st century
  8. 2008BuiltLadora Savings Bank is built
By decade

Ladora, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Purple LED Street Lights at Ladora Iowa I-80 Rest Area2023Purple LED Street Lights at Ladora Iowa I-80 Rest AreaLadoraWaterTower2012LadoraWaterTowerLadora Iowa2007Ladora IowaIAMap-doton-Ladora2004IAMap-doton-Ladora
On the map

Ladora on the map, 1965 to 1984

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

Ladora on the 1965 USGS mapLadora on the 1984 USGS map1965Ladora sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Ladora.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Ladora

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1990
Ladora Savings Bank
Ladora Savings Bank, built 2008
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Classical Revival1
Ladora Savings BankClassical Revival · Built 2008

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

Questions about Ladora’s history

What year was Ladora founded?

The Ladora post office opened in 1862, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Ladora?

One place: the Ladora Savings Bank (listed 1990).

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 (4), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.