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PecivalIowaChurchPhoto: PopePompus · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Percival

Percival’s post office opened in 1868, and 44% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1985 on.

1868first post office
0on the National Register
44%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: PopePompus · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Percival began

When was Percival founded?

1868

The Percival post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Gaston (1849), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 53158 years
Founding year: the first Percival post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Percival’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 Percival are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Percival’s homes were built before 1942.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Percival’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Percival’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

Percival, in brief

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

Percival is a small unincorporated community and census-designated place in Fremont County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 53. The old part of town is along the BNSF tracks and is accessible from Interstate 29 at Exit 15. However, most sources of employment are located near the Interstate 29/Iowa Highway 2 interchange at Exit 10 of Interstate 29. The ZIP code for Percival is 51648.

Its first post office opened in 1868. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 87 to 53 (-39%).

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

Timeline

Percival, 1849 to 1985

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1849Post officeThe Gaston post office opens
  3. 1868Post officeThe Gaston post office closes
  4. 1868Post officeThe Percival post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1985On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Percival, decade by decade

Today2 recent
PercivalParkPercivalIowa2024PercivalParkPercivalIowaPecivalIowaChurch2024PecivalIowaChurch
On the map

Percival on the map, 1985 to 1993

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

Percival on the 1985 USGS mapPercival on the 1993 USGS map1985Nebraska City sheet · 1:100,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Percival.

Famous people

Famous people close to Percival

Nobody well known was born in Percival itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Pete RickettsUnited States Senator from Nebraska since 2023 · b. 1964
R
Rainbow RowellAmerican children's writer · b. 1973
Hazel AbelAmerican politician · b. 1888
D
Don HallAmerican film director · b. 1969
E
Edison PettitAmerican astronomer · b. 1889
Anthony DexterAmerican actor · b. 1913
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Percival’s post office has been open since 1868. Another post office, Gaston, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gaston
1849–1868
Percival
1868–today
18401930today

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

Questions about Percival’s history

What year was Percival founded?

The Percival post office opened in 1868, 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), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.