Le Grand was laid out in 1852, and it was incorporated in 1891. The city was named for Le Grande Byington, the original owner of the town site.
As early as about 1866 the firm of Kirby and Howe established the LeGrand Quarry Co. on the outskirts of LeGrand. This included a railroad station and village known as 'Little Italy' where workers produced the fine limestone, marble and crushed rock for which the area became famous. The village was platted by them in 1868 as Quarry, Iowa.
Passages that mention Le Grand, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The History of Marshall County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c., a biographical directory of citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion, general and local statistics, portraits of early settlers and promi1878 · page 538Read the page →
Read the text
Le Grand, the first town, was planned in 1850, and a little settlement made, with one store. The records show evidence of the town July 5, 1854. It was located on Section 13, Town 83, Range 17.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The History of Marshall County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c., a biographical directory of citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion, general and local statistics, portraits of early settlers and promi1878 · page 528Read the page →
Read the text
This institution of learning is beautifully located about one-half mile west of the village of Le Grand, on the C. & N. W. Ry,, near the east edge of the county, and is under the supervision of the Society of Friends. A mutual desire among Friends at Le Grand to establish a graded school, in which their children might receive a more advanced, and at the same time, a more guarded, intellectual and religious training than they could in the public schools, led to the organization of the Friends' Academy, in the Spring of 1873. The first term of school opened on the 5th of May, with Walter D. Jones, of Ohio,
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
Le Grand, 1852 to 1980
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.
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.
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 (2), the Library of Congress (3), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.
1940
1940
1980
