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History · Masonville

Masonville dates to 1858, and 76% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1903 on and the census since 1910.

1858founded
0on the National Register
76%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Masonville began, and where its name came from

When was Masonville founded?

1858

Masonville dates its founding to 1858 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 282 in 19102020 census: 99168 years

How did Masonville get its name?

Masonville was named for businessman R. B. Mason.

Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1860. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Masonville’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 Masonville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Masonville’s homes were built before 1938.On the map since 19033 editions of the USGS map, 1903 to 1984. Watch Masonville change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Masonville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Masonville’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

How Masonville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Masonville.

Read it all →

Masonville was laid out in 1858. It was named for businessman R. B. Mason.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

On the map

Masonville on the map, 1903 to 1984

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Masonville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Masonville on the 1903 USGS mapMasonville on the 1973 USGS mapMasonville on the 1984 USGS map1903Winthrop sheet · 1:125,000

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Masonville in 1878

Passages that mention Masonville, cut from the printed page as they were published.

This was the first railroad which was built into and across this county. It was completed to Nottingham (Earlville) in December, 1857, and to Manchester and Masonville in October, 1859. Connected with it, and composed of its officers and members, in part, was a sort of internal Credit Mobilier orga…
The history of Delaware county, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c., a biographical directory of its citizens, war record of its volunteers ... history of the Northwest, history of Iowa, map of Delaware county, Constitution of1878 · page 468Read the page →
Read the text

This was the first railroad which was built into and across this county. It was completed to Nottingham (Earlville) in December, 1857, and to Manchester and Masonville in October, 1859. Connected with it, and composed of its officers and members, in part, was a sort of internal Credit Mobilier organization, called the Iowa Land Company, which provided for the right of way, and largely controlled the location of the road, and became interested in the various towns through which it was expected to pass.

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

Masonville, 1858 to 1903

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858
    FoundingMasonville is established
  3. 1860Post officeThe Masonville post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1903On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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People over time

Masonville, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 282

Between 99 and 282 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Questions about Masonville’s history

What year was Masonville founded?

In 1858, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Masonville’s post office opened in 1860, and the census of 1910 counted 282 people here.

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 Wikipedia, 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 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.