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History · Runnells

Runnells’ post office opened in 1882, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1930 on and the census since 1910.

1882first post office
0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Runnells began, and where its name came from

When was Runnells founded?

1882

The Runnells post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1903.

First census: 428 in 19102020 census: 457144 years

How did Runnells get its name?

Runnells was named for John S. Runnells, a former editorial writer for the Iowa State Register and private secretary for Governor Samuel Merrill.

Founding year: the first Runnells post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1903. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Runnells’ 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 Runnells are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Runnells’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Runnells came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Runnells.

Read it all →

Runnells incorporated as a city on May 21, 1903. It was named for John S. Runnells, a former editorial writer for the Iowa State Register and private secretary for Governor Samuel Merrill.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Runnells, 1882 to 1997

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1882Post officeThe Runnells post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1930On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1997Born hereDeion Mikesell is born here
By decade

Runnells, decade by decade

Today6 recent
RunnelsIAWelcomeSign2025RunnelsIAWelcomeSignRunnelsIAHistoricalSociety2025RunnelsIAHistoricalSocietyRunnelsIACityHallPostOffice2025RunnelsIACityHallPostOfficeRunnells, Iowa2025Runnells, IowaIA 316 north end2010IA 316 north endIAMap-doton-Runnells2004IAMap-doton-Runnells
On the map

Runnells on the map, 1930 to 1972

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

Runnells on the 1930 USGS mapRunnells on the 1972 USGS map1930Mitchellville 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 Runnells.

People over time

Runnells, census by census

0100200300400500192019401960198020002020Peak: 507

Between 306 and 507 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Questions about Runnells’ history

What year was Runnells founded?

The Runnells post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1903.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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), 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) 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.