The Malvern post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Milton Station (1870), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
2020 census: 1,046155 years
How historic is Malvern?
B−
More historic than 52% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Malvern post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Malvern’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Malvern is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Malvern’s 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 Malvern’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (17% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.1 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 Malvern’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The pioneer village of Milton was established in the fall of 1869 in Silver Creek Township. It was later renamed Malvern when it was discovered that there was already another Milton, Iowa. It was one of four communities in the area that came into existence with the completion of the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad on November 18, 1869.
John D. Paddock and his bride were the first residents of Malvern. They arrived in September and put up a small 1+1⁄2-story building that served as their home and the community's first store.
Passages that mention Malvern, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Mills County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, etc., a biographical directory of many of its leading citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebelllion, general and local statistics ... history of Iowa and1881 · page 505Read the page →
Read the text
most foolish act the board has yet perpetrated officially. It is as follows: " In the matter of petition of citizens of Silver Creek township for a division of said township into two townships, the one to comprise the territory without the corporate limits of Malvern, and the other to comprise the territory within the corporate limits of said city of Malvern. It is hereby ordered that the petition be granted, and that said Silver Creek township be divided, the territory without the corporate limits of the city of Malvern to be one township, and the territory within the corporate
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
At a public meeting called by D. M. Whitfield and Joseph Foxworthy at the Malvern School House in May, 1873, a temporary organization was formed for an annual exhibit of stock and farm products of the county at Malvern. August 11th a permanent organization was effected under the title of Mills County Central Agricultural and Mechanical Association and the following named officers elected: John Barnum, Pres., S. VanOrsdel, V.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
From the starting of Malvern, it has drawn away from time to time the resources of White Cloud, which has helped much in our village life, and now comes the discontinuance of the Post Office there, which closes the interesting history of a pioneer village of 45 years. Mr. W. G. Summers was the first post master in 1858, and several successors to Mr. Summers have held the keys for long and shorter terms. Mr. James S. Miller now a resident of Malvern being the longest term holder of the office, over 14 years, Mr. Bishop and Mr. Mears, being the last ones in charge. The
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
Malvern, 1870 to 1936
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Malvern’s post office has been open since 1871. Another post office, Milton Station, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Milton Station
1870–1871
Malvern
1871–today
18701950today
1cemetery inside Malvern
Malvern
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Malvern’s history
What year was Malvern founded?
The Malvern post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Malvern rank for history?
Malvern is more historic than 52% 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.
How old are the homes in Malvern?
45% of Malvern’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.1 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1948.
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 (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
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