The story
Read it all →How Lisbon came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Lisbon.
Lisbon was laid out in 1851. It was named after Lisbon, the capital of Portugal.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
A−History
History · Lisbon
Lisbon’s post office opened in 1851, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 75% of U.S. towns. What drives it
5 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 17 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1891 on and the census since 1860.
1851first post office
5on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Quick answers
How Lisbon began, and where its name came from
When was Lisbon founded?
1851
The Lisbon post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 582 in 18602020 census: 2,233175 years
How did Lisbon get its name?
Lisbon was named after Lisbon, the capital of Portugal.
How historic is Lisbon?
A−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 75% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Lisbon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Lisbon’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lisbon is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lisbon’s overall grade.
Founding era1851, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194023.2% of homes (±8.2) · typical IA town 21.6% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register5 listings, 21 historic buildings, 123 per 10,000 residents · typical IA town 9.1 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 75%
NewerOlder
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 Lisbon’s 123 sits above most of its state (85% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 21 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% 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 (±8.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Lisbon’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 Lisbon are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18914 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1993. Watch Lisbon change.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1894 to 1906, drew every building in Lisbon.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Lisbon’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lisbon’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Lisbon on the map, 1891 to 1993
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lisbon. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1891Mechanicsville sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lisbon.
Every building
Lisbon, building by building, 1894–1906
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.
1894Sheet 1 of 1Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Lisbon in 1911
Passages that mention Lisbon, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Linn County Iowa1911Read the page →
Read the text
contractors failed to raise the money and to go on with the work. While the people were sore over this failure another company began building from Clinton west and had completed forty miles during the year 1858. It came as far as Lisbon by the end of this year, and this was the first railroad station within the borders of Linn county. The Dubuque and South-western was extended through to Cedar Rapids in 1865, just six years after the Northwestern road had laid its track to the river and had trains running. This caused Cedar Rapids to become at that early day
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Linn County Iowa1911 · page 292Read the page →
Read the text
After I had gone a certain distance, I put my hat on my cane to guide my wife to the spot. Thus I continued for some time till we got right again. " THE UNITED BRETHREN AT LISBON I tinlife and work a1 Lisbon date back to the faithful labors of Rev. Christian Troup, who began preaching in this vicinity as early as 1836. Hence the church at Lisbon had its beginning with the very beginning of our church in Iowa.
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
Lisbon, 1851 to 1933
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Lisbon, decade by decade
2016
2016
2012
2004On the National Register
5 listings protect 21 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
21
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Harrison Stuckslager House
BuildingsDistricts
Architectural styles listings
Italianate1
Vernacular1
Classical1
Harrison Stuckslager HouseItalianate · Built 1876
Torrance HouseVernacular
Lisbon Methodist ChurchBuilding
All 5 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Lisbon, census by census
Grew from 582 people in 1860 to 2,233 in 2020, 3 times over.
17 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lisbon’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Lisbon’s history
What year was Lisbon founded?
The Lisbon post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Lisbon rank for history?
Lisbon is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns. 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 Lisbon?
5 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Harrison Stuckslager House (listed 1979, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Lisbon Main Street Historic District and the Meyers Farmstead Historic District, with 17 contributing buildings. 21 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Lisbon?
23% of Lisbon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.2 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1978.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.