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History · Princeton

Princeton’s post office opened in 1841, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Community Building. Below: 2 old photos and papers from 1899 on and old-book passages.

1841first post office
1on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Princeton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Princeton began

When was Princeton founded?

1841

The Princeton post office opened in 1841, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 923185 years
Founding year: the first Princeton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Princeton’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.Deep rootsA post office since 1841: 185 years of Princeton.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Princeton’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFMIB 38865 Mussel Fishing through the I…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Princeton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Princeton.

Read it all →

The first known settlers in Princeton Township were brothers Giles and Haswell Pineo, circa 1836. By 1838, Elizabeth City – the predecessor to Princeton – had its first store, ferry across the nearby Wapsipinicon River, mill and distillery were in operation.

The city now known as Princeton was platted and recorded in 1852, and the city was incorporated in 1860. Rail service to Chicago began in 1860. Samuel Porter was the first elected mayor in 1858, for a population of less than 500. The population has fluctuated several times through the years, and today stands at less than 900 residents.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Princeton in 1900

Passages that mention Princeton, cut from the printed page as they were published.

January 11, 1960 PRINCETON FORMS A CHAMBER OF COMMERCE GROUP ee ee CAM DER OF COMMERCE GROUP A Chamber of Commerce for the town of Princeton was formed at an organizational meeting attended bye 32 people at Pain's Cafe in Princeton.
[Princeton History Scrapbook - 1950 to 1979]1900 · page 63Read the page →
Read the text

January 11, 1960 PRINCETON FORMS A CHAMBER OF COMMERCE GROUP ee ee CAM DER OF COMMERCE GROUP A Chamber of Commerce for the town of Princeton was formed at an organizational meeting attended bye 32 people at Pain's Cafe in Princeton.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Princeton has had several newspapers, but they did not. last long. L.R. Walker founded the Princeton Reporter in 1900, and Frank Hamann started to publish the Princeton Herald in 1905, The Princeton Savings Bank was organized in 1904 and closed in 1908, the year the Princeton Farmers’ Savings
[Princeton History Scrapbook - 1950 to 1979]1900 · page 240Read the page →
Read the text

Princeton has had several newspapers, but they did not. last long. L.R. Walker founded the Princeton Reporter in 1900, and Frank Hamann started to publish the Princeton Herald in 1905, The Princeton Savings Bank was organized in 1904 and closed in 1908, the year the Princeton Farmers’ Savings

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.

By decade

Princeton, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s2 items
FMIB 38865 Mussel Fishing through the Ice near Princeton, Iowa, on the Mississippi River, Winter of 1898-991899FMIB 38865 Mussel Fishing through the Ice near Prince…FMIB 38880 Mussel Fishing through the Ice near Princeton, Iowa, on the Mississippi River, Winter of 1898-991899FMIB 38880 Mussel Fishing through the Ice near Prince…
1900s–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
Today4 recent
CP 6034-EMD SD40-22014CP 6034-EMD SD40-2CP 5019-EMD SD30C-ECO2014CP 5019-EMD SD30C-ECOCommunity Building2011Community BuildingIAMap-doton-Princeton2004IAMap-doton-Princeton
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.

FMIB 38865 Mussel Fishing through the Ice near Princeton, Iowa, on the Mississippi River, Winter of 1898-99
Retake this viewFMIB 38865 Mussel Fishing through the Ice near Princeton, Iowa, on the Mississippi River, Winter of 1898-99, 1899

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Princeton

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
2008
Community Building
Community Building
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Commercial1
Community BuildingCommercial

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Princeton’s post office has been open since 1841.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Rivercrest Estates
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Princeton
Oak RidgePrinceton City

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

Questions about Princeton’s history

What year was Princeton founded?

The Princeton post office opened in 1841, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Princeton?

One place: the Community Building (listed 2008).

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.