The story
Read it all →How North English came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of North English.
North English was laid out in 1855; it was originally called Nevada.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Quick answers
How North English began
When was North English founded?
1852
The North English post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 683 in 19002020 census: 1,065174 years
How historic is North English?
B−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 48% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first North English post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives North English’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, North English is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of North English’s overall grade.
Founding era1852, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194032.9% of homes (±11.4) · typical IA town 21.6% · U.S. 8.4%ANational RegisterNo listings counted · typical IA town 9.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 48%
NewerOlder
Iowa towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Iowa town has 9.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so North English’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (17% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±11.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about North English’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start North English’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how North English’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
North English, 1852 to 1954
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1852Post officeThe North English post office opens
- 20th century
- 1909Born hereMace Brown is born here
- 1954
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade
North English, decade by decade
2015
2014
2004On the map
North English on the map, 1954 to 1968
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of North English. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1954Des Moines sheet · 1:250,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of North English.
Every building
North English, building by building, 1916
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.
1916Sheet 1 of 1Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
People over time
North English, census by census
Between 683 and 1,065 people in every census since 1900.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on North English’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Places now gone
North English’s post office has been open since 1852.
Gone or out of use
North Englishlocale
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about North English’s history
What year was North English founded?
The North English post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does North English rank for history?
North English is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in North English?
33% of North English’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.4 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1963.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikipedia, 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.