The Lineville post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Grand River (1851), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
2020 census: 195154 years
Founding year: the first Lineville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Lineville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lineville has been called the oldest town in Wayne County, but was not noted on early maps or in the 1850 state line survey, and probably attracted settlers from a nearby short-lived community called Grand River after the state line dispute was settled. Lineville was platted in 1858.
Because part of the town is in Missouri and part in Iowa, it was named Lineville. The town square sits on the Iowa–Missouri border with the business on the south side of the square in South Lineville, Missouri. When Wayne County was dry, liquor by the drink could be purchased at the bars on the Missouri side of the square.
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), 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.
2024
2004
