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History · New Hartford

New Hartford’s post office opened in 1858, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1971 on and the census since 1900.

1858first post office
0on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Jazzlisp · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How New Hartford began

When was New Hartford founded?

1858

The New Hartford post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Beaver Grove (1855), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 570 in 19002020 census: 570168 years
Founding year: the first New Hartford post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about New Hartford’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 New Hartford are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 764 in 1980; 570 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of New Hartford’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start New Hartford’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how New Hartford’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
People over time

New Hartford, census by census

02004006008001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 764

Peaked at 764 in 1980; 570 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story so far

New Hartford, in brief

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

New Hartford is a city in Butler County, Iowa, United States. The population was 570 at the time of the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1858. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 516 to 570 (+10%).

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

Timeline

New Hartford, 1855 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1855Post officeThe Beaver Grove post office opens
  3. 1858Post officeThe Beaver Grove post office closes
  4. 1858Post officeThe New Hartford post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1933Born hereChuck Grassley is born here
  7. 1971On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 764
By decade

New Hartford, decade by decade

Today3 recent
New Hartford Town Hall 9-25-20182018New Hartford Town Hall 9-25-2018NewHartfordIAKwikStarFloodFEMA2008NewHartfordIAKwikStarFloodFEMAIAMap-doton-NewHartford2004IAMap-doton-NewHartford
On the map

New Hartford on the map, 1971 to 1984

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

New Hartford on the 1971 USGS mapNew Hartford on the 1984 USGS map1971New Hartford sheet · 1:24,000

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

New Hartford’s post office has been open since 1858. Another post office, Beaver Grove, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Beaver Grove
1855–1858
New Hartford
1858–today
18501940today
1cemetery inside New Hartford
Oak Hill

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

Questions about New Hartford’s history

What year was New Hartford founded?

The New Hartford post office opened in 1858, 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 →
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 (3), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.