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History · Martelle

Martelle’s post office opened in 1872, and 49% of its homes were built before 1940

1872first post office
0on the National Register
49%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Billwhittaker · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Martelle began

When was Martelle founded?

1872

The Martelle post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 249154 years
Founding year: the first Martelle post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Martelle’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 Martelle are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Martelle’s homes were built before 1941.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Martelle’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Martelle’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 Martelle came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Martelle.

Read it all →

Martelle was platted in 1872 when the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad was being built through the neighborhood.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Martelle, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Martelle, Iowa2008Martelle, IowaIAMap-doton-Martelle2004IAMap-doton-Martelle
Famous people

Famous people close to Martelle

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

See all →
Elijah WoodAmerican actor · b. 1981
Ashton KutcherAmerican actor · b. 1978
Grant WoodAmerican painter · b. 1891
Carl Van VechtenAmerican writer and photographer · b. 1880
Michael EmersonAmerican actor · b. 1954
R
Ron LivingstonAmerican actor · b. 1967
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Martelle’s post office has been open since 1872.

Gone or out of use
Martellelocale

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

Questions about Martelle’s history

What year was Martelle founded?

The Martelle post office opened in 1872, 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 →
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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 (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.