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History · New Virginia

New Virginia’s post office opened in 1858, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1950 on and the census since 1910.

1858first post office
0on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How New Virginia began

When was New Virginia founded?

1858

The New Virginia post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 396 in 19102020 census: 498168 years
Founding year: the first New Virginia post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about New Virginia’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 Virginia are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of New Virginia’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start New Virginia’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how New Virginia’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

New Virginia, in brief

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

New Virginia is a city in Warren County, Iowa, United States. The population was 498 at the time of the 2020 census. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1858. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 489 in 2010, 498 in 2020.

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about New Virginia, 1879–1908

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

he retired from active labor in 1890 and located in the village of New Virginia, but was not long permitted to enjoy his new home, however, for death claimed him on the 23d of January, 1891, his remains being interred in the New Virginia cemetery. The republican party found in Mr. Reed a stalwart s…
The history of Warren County, Iowa1879 · page 864Read the page →
Read the text

he retired from active labor in 1890 and located in the village of New Virginia, but was not long permitted to enjoy his new home, however, for death claimed him on the 23d of January, 1891, his remains being interred in the New Virginia cemetery. The republican party found in Mr. Reed a stalwart supporter of its principles and he took an active interest in public affairs but cared nothing for the honors or emoluments of office. He assisted in organizing his party in Mercer county, Illinois. While still an invalid in the hospital at Jeflferson-

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
he retired from active labor in 1890 and located in the village of New Virginia, but was not long permitted to enjoy his new home, however, for death claimed him on the 23d of January, 1891, his remains being interred in the New Virginia cemetery. The republican party found in Mr. Reed a stalwart s…
History of Warren County, Iowa1908 · page 864Read the page →
Read the text

he retired from active labor in 1890 and located in the village of New Virginia, but was not long permitted to enjoy his new home, however, for death claimed him on the 23d of January, 1891, his remains being interred in the New Virginia cemetery. The republican party found in Mr. Reed a stalwart supporter of its principles and he took an active interest in public affairs but cared nothing for the honors or emoluments of office. He assisted in organizing his party in Mercer county, Illinois. While still an invalid in the hospital at Jefferson-

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
this property and subsequently became the owner of other lands, owning farms in the same township. He made farming his life occupation and still has three hundred and forty acres of good farming land besides twenty-five acres adjoining the village of New Virginia, where he located in 1894. Here he …
History of Warren County, Iowa1908 · page 486Read the page →
Read the text

this property and subsequently became the owner of other lands, owning farms in the same township. He made farming his life occupation and still has three hundred and forty acres of good farming land besides twenty-five acres adjoining the village of New Virginia, where he located in 1894. Here he has built a beautiful home and amid many comforts he is now enjoying a well earned rest. In addition to his property in this county he owns one hundred and sixty acres of land in Wyoming.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
farms in the same township. He made fanning' liis life occnpation and still has three hundred and forty acres of f?ood fanning land besides twenty-five acres adjoining the village of New Virginia, where he located in 1894. Here he has built a beautiful home and amid many comforts he is now enjoying…
The history of Warren County, Iowa1879 · page 487Read the page →
Read the text

farms in the same township. He made fanning' liis life occnpation and still has three hundred and forty acres of f?ood fanning land besides twenty-five acres adjoining the village of New Virginia, where he located in 1894. Here he has built a beautiful home and amid many comforts he is now enjoying a well earned rest. In addition to his ])roperty in this county he owns one hundred and sixty acres of land in Wyoming.

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

New Virginia, 1858 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858Post officeThe New Virginia post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 21st century
  6. 2000Born hereRandy Kohrs is born here
By decade

New Virginia, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Central Iowa to move (45)2024Central Iowa to move (45)Central Iowa to move (44)2024Central Iowa to move (44)Central Iowa to move (43)2024Central Iowa to move (43)Central Iowa to move (42)2024Central Iowa to move (42)Central Iowa to move (41)2024Central Iowa to move (41)IAMap-doton-NewVirginia2004IAMap-doton-NewVirginia
On the map

New Virginia on the map, 1950 to 1983

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

New Virginia on the 1950 USGS mapNew Virginia on the 1983 USGS map1950New Virginia 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 New Virginia.

People over time

New Virginia, census by census

0100200300400500192019401960198020002020Peak: 512

Between 342 and 512 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

New Virginia’s post office has been open since 1858.

Gone or out of use
New Virginialocale
1cemetery inside New Virginia
Beymer

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

Questions about New Virginia’s history

What year was New Virginia founded?

The New Virginia 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 (6), 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), 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.