The story
Read it all →How Marcus came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Marcus.
The first building in Marcus was erected in 1871. Marcus was incorporated on May 15, 1882.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
B−History
History · Marcus
Marcus’ post office opened in 1871, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 47% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1914 on and the census since 1880.
1871first post office
0on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Quick answers
How Marcus began
When was Marcus founded?
1871
The Marcus post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 171 in 18802020 census: 1,079155 years
How historic is Marcus?
B−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 47% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Marcus post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Marcus’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Marcus is more historic than 47% 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 Marcus’ overall grade.
Founding era1871, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194032.3% of homes (±8.9) · typical IA town 21.6% · U.S. 8.4%ANational RegisterNo listings counted · typical IA town 9.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 47%
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 Marcus’ 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 (±8.9 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 Marcus’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Marcus’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Marcus’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Marcus, 1871 to 1969
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Marcus, decade by decade
Today2 recent
2020
2004On the map
Marcus on the map, 1969 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Marcus. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1969Marcus sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Marcus.
Every building
Marcus, building by building, 1914
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 sheet.
1914Sheet 1 of 1Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
People over time
Marcus, census by census
Between 171 and 1,307 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Marcus’ Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →2 famous people were born in Marcus
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Questions about Marcus’ history
What year was Marcus founded?
The Marcus post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Marcus rank for history?
Marcus is more historic than 47% 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 Marcus?
32% of Marcus’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.9 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1958.
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 (2), 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.