Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Panama

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Panama

Panama’s post office opened in 1882, and 44% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1978 on and the census since 1890.

1882first post office
0on the National Register
44%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Panama began

When was Panama founded?

1882

The Panama post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 379 in 18902020 census: 235144 years
Founding year: the first Panama post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Panama’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 Panama are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Panama’s homes were built before 1951.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Panama’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Panama’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

How Panama came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Panama.

Read it all →

Panama had its start in the year 1882 by the building of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway through Washington Township.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Panama, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Panama, IA2018Panama, IAIAMap-doton-Panama2004IAMap-doton-Panama
On the map

Panama on the map, 1978 to 1980

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

Panama on the 1978 USGS mapPanama on the 1980 USGS map1978Panama 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 Panama.

People over time

Panama, census by census

01002003004001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 379

Between 201 and 379 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Questions about Panama’s history

What year was Panama founded?

The Panama post office opened in 1882, 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 (2), Wikipedia, 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.