The Pocahontas post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1892. Another post office, Pocahontas Centre (1871), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
2020 census: 1,867156 years
How historic is Pocahontas?
B
More historic than 61% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Pocahontas post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1892.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Pocahontas’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pocahontas is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pocahontas’ 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 Pocahontas’ 11.3 sits near the middle of its state (61% 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 (±5.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1892 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Pocahontas’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Pocahontas was first settled and surveyed in 1870 by Warrick and Buelah Price of Cleveland, Ohio. The city was named after Pocahontas, a Powhatan woman from Jamestown, Virginia. Other geographical names in the county related to the colony at Jamestown are Rolfe, Powhatan Township and Varina.
During the tornado outbreak of April 9–11, 2011, a regional event consisting of several tornadoes hit Pocahontas County and the surrounding areas. No injuries or fatalities were reported. The strongest was an EF4 that touched down west of town. This tornado impacted a farmstead.
Passages that mention Pocahontas, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The pioneer history of Pocahontas County, Iowa, from the time of its earliest settlement to the present time1904 · page 454Read the page →
Read the text
quite rapidly, the Bohemians constituting a large proportion of the population and establishing Catholic services at Pocahontas in the spring of 1875. Whilst the settlement of the township was retarded by the ravages of the grasshoppers in 1873-74 and 1876-77, and its great distance from
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The pioneer history of Pocahontas County, Iowa, from the time of its earliest settlement to the present time1904Read the page →
Read the text
In the fall of 1898, the Northwestern surveyed a line from Sao City to Algona, passing through Pocahontas (Nov. 5, 1898) and the citizens of Pocahontas proposed to give them the site for a depot in town and the rightof-way to Rolfe if they would build the road. A new railroad was then
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
Pocahontas, 1870 to 1946
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds
Pocahontas had its own post office from 1870 to 1871. Another post office, Pocahontas Centre, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Pocahontas
1870–1871
Pocahontas Centre
1871–1882
Pocahontas
1882–today
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Pocahontaslocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Pocahontas
CalvarySummit Hill
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Pocahontas’ history
What year was Pocahontas founded?
The Pocahontas post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1892.
How does Pocahontas rank for history?
Pocahontas is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns. 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 Pocahontas?
Two places: the Pocahontas County Courthouse (listed 1981) and the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church (1994).
How old are the homes in Pocahontas?
21% of Pocahontas’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1965.
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 (4), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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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