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History · Montrose

Montrose’s post office opened in 1838, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Saint Barnabas Episcopal Church. Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1911 on.

1838first post office
1on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Montrose’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Montrose began

When was Montrose founded?

1838

The Montrose post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Fort Des Moines (1835), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

2020 census: 738188 years
Founding year: the first Montrose post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Montrose’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsA post office since 1838: 188 years of Montrose.Old housesHalf of Montrose’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Montrose’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPanoramic view of: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Montrose, 1835 to 1911

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1835Post officeThe Fort Des Moines post office opens
  3. 1838Post officeThe Fort Des Moines post office closes
  4. 1838Post officeThe Montrose post office opens
  5. 1849Born hereCal McVey is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1908Born hereNedra Volz is born here
  8. 1911In the archivePanoramic view of
The story

How Montrose came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Montrose.

Read it all →

The area around Montrose has been occupied continuously since at least the 1780s, when Quashquame's village was established nearby. The area was strategically important because it is at the head of the Des Moines Rapids, a major impediment to river traffic that caused large boats to land in this area and transfer freight overland to avoid the rapids. Montrose was the location of Fort Des Moines No. 1, a military post from 1834 to 1837. In 1836 the commander of Fort Des Moines, Lieutenant-Colonel Mason, would begin to plat out the town. Later that year David W. Kilbourne would finish laying out the town, and would name it Montrose. From 1839 to 1846 Montrose was the home of many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This was primarily significant in 1839 when many people lived in an abandoned barracks at Montrose that served as a good short term residence while home…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Montrose, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Panoramic view of1911Panoramic view of
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today5 recent
Des Moines River at Mississippi (Nauvoo Temple visible) P60710402012Des Moines River at Mississippi (Nauvoo Temple visibl…Montrose iowa2009Montrose iowaIAMap-doton-Montrose2004IAMap-doton-Montrose6. Riverfront Park (Chestnut Street, Montrose, Iowa) on the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail (2004)20046. Riverfront Park (Chestnut Street, Montrose, Iowa) …5. Linger Longer Park (Montrose, Iowa) on the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail (2004)20045. Linger Longer Park (Montrose, Iowa) on the Mormon …
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Panoramic view of
Retake this viewPanoramic view of, 1911

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Montrose’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Montrose

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
1986
Saint Barnabas Episcopal Church
Saint Barnabas Episcopal Church
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Gothic Revival1
Saint Barnabas Episcopal ChurchGothic Revival

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 Montrose

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

See all →
Nedra VolzAmerican actress · b. 1908
Cal McVeyAmerican baseball player · b. 1849
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Montrose’s post office has been open since 1838. Another post office, Fort Des Moines, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Fort Des Moines
1835–1838
Montrose
1838–today
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bluff Park
Gone or out of use
Montroselocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Montrose
MontroseSaint Barnabas

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

Questions about Montrose’s history

What year was Montrose founded?

The Montrose post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Montrose?

One place: the Saint Barnabas Episcopal Church (listed 1986).

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.