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History · Le Roy

Le Roy’s post office opened in 1881, and 50% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1965 on and the census since 1910.

1881first post office
0on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
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Photo: PopePompus · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Le Roy began

When was Le Roy founded?

1881

The Le Roy post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Gould (1880), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 185 in 19102020 census: 11145 years
Founding year: the first Le Roy post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Le Roy’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 Le Roy are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Le Roy’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Le Roy’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Le Roy’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

How Le Roy came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Le Roy.

Read it all →

Le Roy got its start in 1880, following construction of the Humeston and Shenandoah Railroad through the territory. The city is named for Leroy Buffman, an early settler.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Le Roy, 1880 to 1965

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880Post officeThe Gould post office opens
  3. 1881Post officeThe Gould post office closes
  4. 1881Post officeThe Le Roy post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1957Post officeThe Le Roy post office closes
  7. 1965On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Le Roy, decade by decade

Today3 recent
LeRoyIowaSign2024LeRoyIowaSignLeRoyIowaAerialPhoto2024LeRoyIowaAerialPhotoIAMap-doton-LeRoy2004IAMap-doton-LeRoy
On the map

Le Roy on the map, 1965 to 1981

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

Le Roy on the 1965 USGS mapLe Roy on the 1981 USGS map1965Le Roy 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 Le Roy.

People over time

Le Roy, census by census

0100200192019401960198020002020Peak: 185

Between 11 and 185 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Le Roy

Nobody well known was born in Le Roy itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
G
Gordon WilleyAmerican archaeologist · b. 1913
Meridel Le SueurAmerican writer and social activist · b. 1900
John McConnellAmerican environmentalist · b. 1915
Zales EctonAmerican politician · b. 1898
George McGillAmerican politician · b. 1879
L. J. DickinsonAmerican politician · b. 1873
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Le Roy had its own post office from 1881 to 1957. Another post office, Gould, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gould
1880–1881
Le Roy
1881–1957
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Le RoylocaleLe Roy Post Officepost office

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

Questions about Le Roy’s history

What year was Le Roy founded?

The Le Roy post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (3), Wikipedia, 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.