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History · Prairieburg

Prairieburg’s post office opened in 1858, and 61% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1890 on and the census since 1870.

1858first post office
0on the National Register
61%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Prairieburg began

When was Prairieburg founded?

1858

The Prairieburg post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1867.

First census: 116 in 18702020 census: 160168 years
Founding year: the first Prairieburg post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1867.

What stands out about Prairieburg’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 Prairieburg are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Prairieburg’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 226 in 1960; 160 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Prairieburg’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Prairieburg’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

Prairieburg, in brief

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

Prairieburg is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States. The population was 160 at the time of the 2020 census. It is part of the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1858. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 178 to 160 (-10%).

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

People over time

Prairieburg, census by census

010020018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 226

Peaked at 226 in 1960; 160 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Timeline

Prairieburg, 1858 to 1961

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858Post officeThe Prairieburg post office opens
  3. 1890On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1922Born hereRichard R. Taylor is born here
  6. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 226
  7. 1961Post officeThe Prairieburg post office closes
By decade

Prairieburg, decade by decade

Today1 recent
St Joseph's2005St Joseph's
On the map

Prairieburg on the map, 1890 to 1973

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

Prairieburg on the 1890 USGS mapPrairieburg on the 1973 USGS map1890Anamosa sheet · 1:62,500

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Prairieburg had its own post office from 1858 to 1961.

Prairieburg
1858–1961
18501940today
Gone or out of use
Prairieburg Post Officepost office

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

Questions about Prairieburg’s history

What year was Prairieburg founded?

The Prairieburg post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1867.

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 (1), 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) 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.