Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1935 on and the census since 1900.
Miles dates its founding to 1870 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1900.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Miles’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Miles.
In 1870, Miles was founded in anticipation of a railroad which would be built through the territory. The town was named for its founder, F. M. Miles.
In 1871, Miles was formally laid out, with the first house being built the following year, in 1872.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Miles, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Christian Church. — This Church was organized at an early day at Mount Algor. For a time meetings were held at Miles' Corner, which afterward became Miles. In 1873, the people of this faith, assisted by the citizens, built a church in Preston, and the church meetings were changed from Miles to this point. The building committee having in charge the building of the church, were Alva McLaughlin, George A. Fell, O. H. Legg and Z. De Groat. The building cost about $3,500, will seat about three hundred persons, is ornamented by a spire, and equipped with a Sterling bell. The ministers since the transfer to
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
At the time of the building of the railroad, the construction company had their headquarters for a time at Miles' Corners, and called the place " Shoo Fly." This name was also given to the school district at first, and, though it was never the name of the station nor post office, the town still receives the name at times. It was first proposed to call the station " Merrill " in honor of the manager of the road, and he was consulted for his permission. The manager assumed that there was another town of that name in the State, but that he, Merrill, would take the privilege of naming the depot. When the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
I drove from Preston Monday and found that the strip free from loess ex¬ tends eastward from Preston to Miles. The strip of sand capped by loess lies northwest of Miles as far as Elk River. I examined the country southeast from Miles to Andrew and found the old valley at Andrew is nearly free from loess and has gravelly and sandy material in form of low knolls much like those on the Iowan border near Epworth and Farley. So it is possible that the Iowan extended out to the Mississippi near the mouth of Elk River. I am wondering , if it may not have crossed the Mississippi there and produced the sandy and
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
then resided in Andrew. Hon. J. Scott Richman, of Muscatine, one of the best judges in the state, was on the bench. Hon. Geo. L. Heberling, afterward mem¬ ber of the legislature and late United States marshal; Captain Hustis, a retired sea captain, and Forest Miles, on whose land the town of Miles was afterward built, were on the jury. The judge and the district attorney, and Mr. Wynkoop and Mr. Dunbar have since died; the others are still living and are in full practice.
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Miles. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Miles.
Between 314 and 462 people in every census since 1900.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Miles’ Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Miles itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Miles’s post office has been open since 1872.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
In 1870, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Miles’ post office opened in 1872, and the census of 1900 counted 385 people here.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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, 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.
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