Le Mars dates to 1869, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 71% of U.S. towns · #67 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
8 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 84 buildings between them. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1883 on, and the census since 1890.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1869.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Le Mars’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Le Mars is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #67 of 140 in Iowa. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Le Mars’ overall grade.
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 Le Mars’ 84.6 sits above most of its state (81% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 90 historic buildings outnumber those of 89% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.6 points). Two sources give 1869.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Le Mars’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Le Mars, building by building, 1883–1913
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.
Le Mars is the home of Wells Enterprises, Inc., world's largest producer of ice cream novelties in one location and claims to be the "Ice Cream Capital of the World."
In 1866, Benjamin F. Betsworth was the first settler in the town which came to be known as Le Mars; he homesteaded on the Floyd River and built the town's first schoolhouse.
Le Mars was platted three years later but no lots were sold until the Iowa Falls and Sioux City Railroad Company, a subsidiary of the Iowa Falls and Sioux City Railroad (later part of the Illinois Central Railroad), completed its trackage from Le Mars southwardly to Sioux City in 1870.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Le Mars’s post office has been open since 1870. Another post office, Floyd Valley, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Floyd Valley
1869–1870
Le Mars
1870–today
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Armel Acres Mobile Home EstatesErdmann Trailer CourtParkview Terrace
Gone or out of use
Westmar Collegeschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Le Mars
CalvaryMemorial
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Le Mars’ history
What year was Le Mars founded?
In 1869, according to Wikidata. Le Mars’ post office opened in 1869, and the census of 1890 counted 4,036 people here.
How does Le Mars rank for history?
Le Mars is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #67 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 Le Mars?
8 listings: 6 buildings, among them the St. George's Episcopal Church (listed 1976, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Le Mars Municipal Park and Golf Course Historic District and the Le Mars Downtown Commercial Historic District, with 84 contributing buildings. 90 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Le Mars?
17% of Le Mars’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.6 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1975.
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 (8), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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