The Rockwell post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Geneseo (1860) and Linn (1860), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
2020 census: 1,071155 years
How historic is Rockwell?
B−
More historic than 46% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Rockwell post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Rockwell’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rockwell is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rockwell’s 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 Rockwell’s 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 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.
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 Rockwell’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds
Rockwell’s post office has been open since 1871. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Geneseo
1860–1871
Linn
1860–1860
Rockwell
1871–today
18601940today
Gone or out of use
Rockwelllocale
1cemetery inside Rockwell
Rockwell
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Rockwell, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Rockwell yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Rockwell is a city in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,071 at the time of the 2020 census. In 2020, it was speculated that the city is part of the Mason City Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Its first post office opened in 1871. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,039 to 1,071 (+3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Rockwell in 1910
Passages that mention Rockwell, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa. From materials in the public archives, the Iowa Historical Society's collection, the newspapers and data of personal interviews1910 · page 433Read the page →
Read the text
its principles and policies. He was the owner of a well improved landed estate of three Imndred and twenty acres adjoining the town of Rockwell at the time of his death, which occurred in September, 1871, when he was sixty years of age. His widow, a woman of noble and gracious character, long survived him and she attained to the extreme age of ninety-five years, passing the closing days of her life in the village of Rockwell and having been held in reverent affection by all who had come within the sphere
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa. From materials in the public archives, the Iowa Historical Society's collection, the newspapers and data of personal interviews1910 · page 432Read the page →
Read the text
review is living — Mary E., who is the widow of Elihu Brown and who resides in Mason City. Upon coming to Cerro Gordo county Jarvis J. Rogers secured a tract of land upon which the town of Rockwell now stands, that section having been at that time called Linn Grove. He sold the property prior to the construction of the railroad to this point and before any village had been there established. He was one of the prominent and influential pioneers of the county and held at all times the inviolable confidence and esteem of
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
Rockwell, 1860 to 1871
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Rockwell post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Rockwell rank for history?
Rockwell is more historic than 46% 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.
How old are the homes in Rockwell?
30% of Rockwell’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 (1), 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.
2004