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History · Plainfield

Plainfield’s post office opened in 1868, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

1868first post office
0on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Quick answers

How Plainfield began

When was Plainfield founded?

1868

The Plainfield post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Polk Precinct (1856) and Syracuse (1862), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

2020 census: 393158 years
Founding year: the first Plainfield post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Plainfield’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 Plainfield are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Plainfield.Old housesHalf of Plainfield’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Plainfield’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Plainfield’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Plainfield’s post office has been open since 1868. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Polk Precinct
1856–1862
Syracuse
1862–1868
Plainfield
1868–today
18501940today
1cemetery inside Plainfield
Willow Lawn

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

The story so far

Plainfield, in brief

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

Plainfield is a city in Bremer County, Iowa, United States. The population was 393 at the 2020 census, a decrease of 45, or 10.3%, from 438 in 2000. It is part of the Waterloo–Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Plainfield post office was established in 1868.

Its first post office opened in 1868. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 436 to 393 (-10%).

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

Timeline

Plainfield, 1856 to 1979

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856Post officeThe Polk Precinct post office opens
  3. 1862Post officeThe Polk Precinct post office closes
  4. 1862Post officeThe Syracuse post office opens
  5. 1868Post officeThe Syracuse post office closes
  6. 1868Post officeThe Plainfield post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1979Born hereDerek Pagel is born here
By decade

Plainfield, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Flood 2008 damage to a Railroad track near2008Flood 2008 damage to a Railroad track near

Questions about Plainfield’s history

What year was Plainfield founded?

The Plainfield 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 →
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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 (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.