More historic than 15% of U.S. towns · #134 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
Most of Robins was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. Below: maps from 1888 on and the census since 1920.
Founding year: the first Robins post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Robins’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Robins is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #134 of 140 in Iowa. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Robins’ 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 Robins’ 0.0 sits below most of its state (17% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share (±1.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Robins’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Robins. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1888Marion 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 Robins.
The story so far
Robins, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Robins yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Robins is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States. The population was 3,353 at the time of the 2020 census. It is a suburb of Cedar Rapids and part of the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Its first post office opened in 1888. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 3,142 to 3,353 (+7%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Robins, 1888 to 1976
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Robins post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Robins rank for history?
Robins is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #134 of 140 in Iowa. 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.
How old are the homes in Robins?
2% of Robins’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.9 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 2003.
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 (2), 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.
2016
2004
