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MartensdaleIowaCityHallPhoto: PopePompus · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Martensdale

Martensdale’s post office opened in 1915, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1931 on and the census since 1930.

1915first post office
0on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: PopePompus · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Martensdale began

When was Martensdale founded?

1915

The Martensdale post office opened in 1915, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 139 in 19302020 census: 421111 years
Founding year: the first Martensdale post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Martensdale’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 Martensdale are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Martensdale’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Martensdale’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Martensdale, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Martensdale yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Martensdale is a city in Warren County, Iowa, United States. The population was 421 at the time of the 2020 census. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1915. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 465 to 421 (-9%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Martensdale, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Central Iowa to move (5)2024Central Iowa to move (5)Central Iowa to move (4)2024Central Iowa to move (4)Central Iowa to move (3)2024Central Iowa to move (3)Central Iowa to move (2)2024Central Iowa to move (2)Central Iowa to move (1)2024Central Iowa to move (1)IAMap-doton-Martensdale2004IAMap-doton-Martensdale
On the map

Martensdale on the map in 1931

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Martensdale.

Martensdale on the 1931 USGS map1931Indianola sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Martensdale.

People over time

Martensdale, census by census

010020030040050019401960198020002020Peak: 491

Between 139 and 491 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Martensdale’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Martensdale

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

See all →
John WayneAmerican actor · b. 1907
Stanley B. PrusinerAmerican neurologist and biochemist · b. 1942
Cloris LeachmanAmerican actress and comedian · b. 1926
Corey TaylorAmerican musician · b. 1973
Bill BrysonAmerican-British author · b. 1951
Brandon RouthAmerican actor · b. 1979

Questions about Martensdale’s history

What year was Martensdale founded?

The Martensdale post office opened in 1915, 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 (6), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via 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.