Onawa dates to 1857, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 71% of U.S. towns · #66 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Onawa Public Library, the Monona County Courthouse and the Newell A. Whiting House. Its Register listings are the Onawa Public Library, the Monona County Courthouse and the Newell A. Whiting House. Below: maps from 1893 on and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1855.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Onawa’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Onawa is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #66 of 140 in Iowa. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Onawa’s overall grade.
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 Onawa’s 10.6 sits near the middle of its state (59% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1857.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.8 points).
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Onawa’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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 year, then a sheet.
Onawa was named for a character mentioned in the poem The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Onawa was platted in 1857, and the railway arrived to the city in 1867. The city is known for having the widest main street in the continental United States.
Onawa was the site of a prisoner-of-war (POW) camp for captured German soldiers between 1944 and 1946. Historical documents indicate there were never more than 50 POWs in camp. A larger camp existed near the central Iowa town of Algona, and housed as many as 5,400 German POWs.
Passages that mention Onawa, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Monona County, Iowa1890 · page 325Read the page →
Read the text
"To the Onawa Educational Sewing Society: — At a meeting of the common council of Onawa, held last evening, it was voted to accept the bell so kindly presented by you (through your secretary) to the town of Onawa, as a sciiool bell. Trusting that the labors of the society for the advancement of education in our midst may continue U) meet with success, we are most respectfully yours, etc.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Monona County, Iowa1890 · page 608Read the page →
Read the text
bottom water-power disappeared, and J. E. tired of fighting green-head flies and mosquitoes, removed to the town of Ashton. where he engaged in botelkee[)ing for one year, removing in 1857 to Onawa, where he had erected a hotel, known as the Onawa House, and with which the early history of Onawa and Onawa people are intimately connected. He w.as agent for the Western Stage Company, and
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
Onawa, 1855 to 1969
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1857, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Onawa’s post office opened in 1855, and the census of 1870 counted 478 people here.
How does Onawa rank for history?
Onawa is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #66 of 140 in Iowa. 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.
What is on the National Register in Onawa?
Three places: the Onawa Public Library (listed 1979), the Monona County Courthouse (1981) and the Newell A. Whiting House (1990).
How old are the homes in Onawa?
32% of Onawa’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.8 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1960.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
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