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History · Montpelier

Montpelier’s post office opened in 1839, and 79% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1916 on.

1839first post office
0on the National Register
79%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Farragutful · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Montpelier began

When was Montpelier founded?

1839

The Montpelier post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Iowa (1836), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 186187 years
Founding year: the first Montpelier post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Montpelier’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 Montpelier are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Montpelier’s homes were built before 1938.On the map since 19165 editions of the USGS map, 1916 to 1991. Watch Montpelier change.Deep rootsA post office since 1839: 187 years of Montpelier.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Montpelier’s collection

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

From Wikipedia’s history of Montpelier.

Read it all →

The first settlers of Muscatine County were natives of Vermont, and they chose the name after the capital of that state, Montpelier.

Montpelier's post office was first established under the name of "Iowa" on April 19, 1836, changed to Montpelier on April 1, 1839, and discontinued on February 11, 1846. Although it was reestablished on February 28, 1882, it was finally discontinued on February 18, 1986, when it was attached to the Blue Grass post office. Although its post office is gone, Montpelier retains its own ZIP Code, 52759.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

On the map

Montpelier on the map, 1916 to 1991

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

Montpelier on the 1916 USGS mapMontpelier on the 1938 USGS mapMontpelier on the 1953 USGS mapMontpelier on the 1975 USGS mapMontpelier on the 1991 USGS map1916Edgington 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 Montpelier.

Timeline

Montpelier, 1836 to 1986

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1836Post officeThe Iowa post office opens
  3. 1839Post officeThe Iowa post office closes
  4. 1839Post officeThe Montpelier post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1916On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1986Post officeThe Montpelier post office closes
By decade

Montpelier, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Varners Caboose Bed Breakfast2023Varners Caboose Bed BreakfastRock Island Depot2023Rock Island DepotOpen Door Baptist Church2023Open Door Baptist ChurchMontpelier, Iowa2023Montpelier, IowaMontpelier, Iowa sign2023Montpelier, Iowa signMontpelier Fire Department2023Montpelier Fire Department
Famous people

Famous people close to Montpelier

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

See all →
Lara Flynn BoyleAmerican actress · b. 1970
Madison KeysUS American tennis player · b. 1995
Seth RollinsAmerican professional wrestler and actor · b. 1986
Eddie AlbertAmerican actor · b. 1906
Julia MichaelsAmerican singer and songwriter · b. 1993
Sue LyonAmerican actress · b. 1946
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Montpelier had its own post office from 1839 to 1986. Another post office, Iowa, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Iowa
1836–1839
Montpelier
1839–1986
18301930today
Gone or out of use
Glendale SchoolschoolMontpelier Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Montpelier
Montpelier

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

Questions about Montpelier’s history

What year was Montpelier founded?

The Montpelier post office opened in 1839, 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), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.