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Zwemer Hall, Northwestern CollegeZwemer Hall, Northwestern College · Photo: Tlandegent at en.wikipedia · Public domain
B−History
History · Orange City

Orange City dates to 1870, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 50% of U.S. towns · #102 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Zwemer Hall, Northwestern College and the Sioux County Courthouse. Below: maps from 1909 on and the census since 1880.

1870founded
2on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
12famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Orange City began

When was Orange City founded?

1870

Orange City dates its founding to 1870 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 320 in 18802020 census: 6,267156 years

How historic is Orange City?

B−

More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1871.
History grade

What drives Orange City’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Orange City is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #102 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 Orange City’s overall grade.
Founding era1870, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194016.2% of homes (±5.2) · typical IA town 21.6% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register2 listings, 3.1 per 10,000 residents · typical IA town 9.1 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 50%
NewerOlder
Iowa towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 27%

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 Orange City’s 3.1 sits near the middle of its state (39% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.2 points). Two sources give 1870.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Orange City’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 Orange City are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Famous sons and daughtersNick Collison, Dennis Muilenburg and 10 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Orange City’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Orange City’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
Famous people

12 famous people were born in Orange City

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

See all →
Nick CollisonAmerican basketball player · b. 1980
Dennis MuilenburgAmerican businessman, and former president, cha… · b. 1964
James KennedyAmerican historian, born 1963 · b. 1963
W
Wendell L. RoelofsDeveloped insect sex attractants for agricultur… · b. 1938
J
Jordan De JongAmerican baseball player · b. 1979
M
Martin Donald Van OosterhoutUnited States federal judge · b. 1900
The story so far

Orange City, in brief

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

Orange City is a city in, and the county seat of, Sioux County, Iowa, United States. Its population was 6,267 in the 2020 census, an increase from 5,582 in 2000. Named after William of Orange, the community maintains its Dutch settler traditions visibly, with Dutch storefront architecture and an annual Tulip Festival.

Orange City was established in 1870. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 6,004 to 6,267 (+4%).

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

Timeline

Orange City, 1870 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870
    FoundingOrange City is established
  3. 1871Post officeThe Orange City post office opens
  4. 1883Post officeThe Orange post office opens
  5. 1883Post officeThe Orange post office closes
  6. 20th century
  7. 1938Born hereWendell L. Roelofs is born here
  8. 1963Born hereJames Kennedy is born here
  9. 1964Born hereDennis Muilenburg is born here
  10. 1964On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1980Born hereNick Collison is born here
By decade

Orange City, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Unity Christian High School2018Unity Christian High SchoolOrange City, Iowa - Water Tower2018Orange City, Iowa - Water TowerNew York Life Insurance Company Office - Orange City, Iowa2018New York Life Insurance Company Office - Orange City,…Central Avenue, Downtown Orange City, Iowa2018Central Avenue, Downtown Orange City, IowaFlickr - jimf0390 - JimF 05-18-12 0050a Orange City Tulip Fest - Dutch Street Organ - A unique sound from the past. One…2012Flickr - jimf0390 - JimF 05-18-12 0050a Orange City T…IAMap-doton-OrangeCity2004IAMap-doton-OrangeCity
On the map

Orange City on the map, 1964 to 1985

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

Orange City on the 1964 USGS mapOrange City on the 1985 USGS map1964Orange City 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 Orange City.

Every building

Orange City, building by building, 1909–1914

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.

Orange City fire insurance map, 1909, sheet 11909Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Orange City

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1975
Zwemer Hall, Northwestern College
Zwemer Hall, Northwestern CollegeSioux County Courthouse
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Romanesque Revival2
Zwemer Hall, Northwestern CollegeRomanesque Revival
Sioux County CourthouseRomanesque Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Orange City, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,000188019001920194019601980200020206,267

Grew from 320 people in 1880 to 6,267 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

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

Orange City’s post office has been open since 1871. Another post office, Orange, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Orange City
1871–today
Orange
1883–1883
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Candlelight Village Mobile Home ParkTwilight Trailer Court
Gone or out of use
Orange Citylocale
1cemetery inside Orange City
West Lawn

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

AltonIts storyC+

Questions about Orange City’s history

What year was Orange City founded?

In 1870, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Orange City’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1880 counted 320 people here.

How does Orange City rank for history?

Orange City is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #102 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 Orange City?

Two places: the Zwemer Hall, Northwestern College (listed 1975) and the Sioux County Courthouse (1977).

How old are the homes in Orange City?

16% of Orange City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1975.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.