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A−History
History · Postville

Postville dates to 1843, and 33% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 82% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Turner Hall. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1880.

1843founded
1on the National Register
33%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Postville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Postville began

When was Postville founded?

1843

Postville dates its founding to 1843 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 732 in 18802020 census: 2,503183 years

How historic is Postville?

A−

More historic than 82% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1849.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Postville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Postville is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Postville’s overall grade.
Founding era1843, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194033.4% of homes (±7.5) · typical IA town 21.6% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register1 listing, 3.4 per 10,000 residents · typical IA town 9.1 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 82%
NewerOlder

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 Postville’s 3.4 sits near the middle of its state (40% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.5 points). Two sources give 1843.

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 Postville’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19063 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1985. Watch Postville change.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1895 to 1913, drew every building in Postville.Deep rootsEstablished in 1843: 183 years of Postville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Postville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Postville’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewPete Meland: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Postville on the map, 1906 to 1985

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

Postville on the 1906 USGS mapPostville on the 1971 USGS mapPostville on the 1985 USGS map1906Decorah sheet · 1:125,000

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

Every building

Postville, building by building, 1895–1913

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.

Postville fire insurance map, 1895, sheet 11895Sheet 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.

The story

How Postville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Postville.

Read it all →

The area of what is now Postville was first settled in 1843 by pioneer settler and mill worker Joel Post, hence the name of the city. Postville was platted in 1853. The population had ancestry from Germany and Norway. Stephanie Simon of the Los Angeles Times wrote that, until circa the 1990s, "Postville was basically all white and all Christian."

On March 17, 1873, Postville was officially incorporated as a city.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Postville, 1843 to 1973

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1843
    FoundingPostville is established
  3. 1849Post officeThe Postville post office opens
  4. 1860Born hereHiram Booth is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1906On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1945Born hereMark Zieman is born here
  8. 1968Born hereBrett Szabo is born here
  9. 1973In the archivePete Meland
By decade

Postville, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s1 item
Pete Meland1973Pete Meland
1980s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Date unknown1 to date
Red Bridge, Spanning Yellow river at abandoned county road, 7.3 miles northeast of PostvilleDate?Red Bridge, Spanning Yellow river at abandoned county…
Today5 recent
A large menorah, a candalabrum lit during the eight-day Jewish celebration of Hanukkah, stands above the entrance to th…2016A large menorah, a candalabrum lit during the eight-d…Carl Homstad's 1993 mural, "The Circus Parade," in the eastern Iowa small town of Postville2016Carl Homstad's 1993 mural, "The Circus Parade," in th…Postville, Iowa business district2016Postville, Iowa business districtAgriprocessors protest 32008Agriprocessors protest 3IAMap-doton-Postville2004IAMap-doton-Postville
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Pete Meland
Retake this viewPete Meland, 1973

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Postville’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Postville

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2000
Turner Hall
Turner Hall
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals1
Turner HallLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals

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

People over time

Postville, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,500188019001920194019601980200020202,503

Grew from 732 people in 1880 to 2,503 in 2020, 3 times over.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Postville

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

See all →
B
Brett SzaboAmerican basketball player · b. 1968
M
Mark ZiemanAmerican politician · b. 1945
Hiram BoothAmerican politician · b. 1860

Questions about Postville’s history

What year was Postville founded?

In 1843, according to Wikidata. Postville’s post office opened in 1849, and the census of 1880 counted 732 people here.

How does Postville rank for history?

Postville is more historic than 82% 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 Postville?

One place: the Turner Hall (listed 2000).

How old are the homes in Postville?

33% of Postville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.5 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1955.

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 (4), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.