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History · Minburn

Minburn dates to 1869, and 46% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Minburn Railroad Depot. Below: old-book passages.

1869founded
1on the National Register
46%homes built before 1940
2famous people
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Quick answers

How Minburn began

When was Minburn founded?

1869

Minburn dates its founding to 1869 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1857.

2020 census: 325157 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1857.

What stands out about Minburn’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 Minburn are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Minburn’s homes were built before 1947.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Minburn’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Minburn’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 so far

Minburn, in brief

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

Minburn is a city in Dallas County, Iowa, United States. The population was 325 at the time of the 2020 census. This city is another one of those Dallas County cities that is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Minburn was established in 1869. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 365 to 325 (-11%).

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Minburn in 1879

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

THE M. E. CHURCH Of Minburn was organized first at a school-house near Minburn, in the year 1859. When the town was laid out the place of meeting was moved to Minburn, in the year 1870. In the summer of 1869 Rev. J. Hestwood, pastor at Adel, preached at Minburn and organized a small class, consisti…
The History of Dallas County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c. ..1879 · page 486Read the page →
Read the text

THE M. E. CHURCH Of Minburn was organized first at a school-house near Minburn, in the year 1859. When the town was laid out the place of meeting was moved to Minburn, in the year 1870. In the summer of 1869 Rev. J. Hestwood, pastor at Adel, preached at Minburn and organized a small class, consisting of the following named persons: Rhoda A. Hill, Minnie J. Knowler, Abbie Baker, Mark J. Newley and Margaret Eewley. These two organizations were united in the year 1870, and known as the Minburn Society.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
" The township is an independent school district, and has nine schoolhouses. Minburn has an additional house to accommodate its pupils, making, in all, ten school-houses in the township. " The first religious services were held at the house of Wm. Boyd, on the evening of the 22d day of April, 1851,…
The History of Dallas County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c. ..1879 · page 524Read the page →
Read the text

" The township is an independent school district, and has nine schoolhouses. Minburn has an additional house to accommodate its pupils, making, in all, ten school-houses in the township. " The first religious services were held at the house of Wm. Boyd, on the evening of the 22d day of April, 1851, sermon by Rev. Hare, of the M. E.

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

Minburn, 1857 to 1914

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857Post officeThe Pierce Point post office opens
  3. 1866Born hereJulia Ellen Rogers is born here
  4. 1869
    FoundingMinburn is established
  5. 1870Post officeThe Pierce Point post office closes
  6. 1870Post officeThe Minburn post office opens
  7. 1872Born hereTheron W. Mortimer is born here
  8. 20th century
  9. 1914BuiltMinburn Railroad Depot is built
By decade

Minburn, decade by decade

Today5 recent
RD Under Secretary Glen Smith Announces $2 6M USDA Investment for the City of Minburn (20260925-USDA-RD-IA-CRL-0010)2026RD Under Secretary Glen Smith Announces $2 6M USDA In…RD Under Secretary Glen Smith Announces $2 6M USDA Investment for the City of Minburn (20260925-USDA-RD-IA-CRL-0009)2026RD Under Secretary Glen Smith Announces $2 6M USDA In…Minburn, Iowa 0012018Minburn, Iowa 001Minburn Railroad Depot2017Minburn Railroad DepotIAMap-doton-Minburn2004IAMap-doton-Minburn
On the National Register

1 historic place in Minburn

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2015
Minburn Railroad Depot
Minburn Railroad Depot, built 1914
Buildings
Minburn Railroad DepotBuilt 1914

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Minburn

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
J
Julia Ellen RogersAmerican writer and teacher · b. 1866
Theron W. MortimerAmerican football player and sports coach · b. 1872
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Minburn’s post office has been open since 1870. Another post office, Pierce Point, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Pierce Point
1857–1870
Minburn
1870–today
18501940today

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

Questions about Minburn’s history

What year was Minburn founded?

In 1869, according to Wikidata. Minburn’s post office opened in 1857.

What is on the National Register in Minburn?

One place: the Minburn Railroad Depot (listed 2015).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.