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History · Ruthven

Ruthven’s post office opened in 1879, and 44% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1901 on, and the census since 1880.

1879first post office
0on the National Register
44%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Ruthven’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Ruthven began, and where its name came from

When was Ruthven founded?

1879

The Ruthven post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 73 in 18802020 census: 725147 years

How did Ruthven get its name?

Ruthven was named for the Ruthven brothers, who owned the town site.

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

What stands out about Ruthven’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Old housesHalf of Ruthven’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · The story

How Ruthven came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ruthven.

Read it all →

Ruthven had its start in the year 1878 by the building of the Milwaukee railroad through that territory. It was named for the Ruthven brothers, who owned the town site.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Ruthven, 1879 to 1985

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879Post officeThe Ruthven post office opens
  3. 1884Born hereRoss Erastus Rowell is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1936In the archiveRefrigerating machine in cooperative creamery
  6. 1985On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Ruthven, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s6 items
Refrigerating machine in cooperative creamery1936Refrigerating machine in cooperative creameryHenry Monk, tenant farmer near Ruthven, Iowa1936Henry Monk, tenant farmer near Ruthven, IowaSigns in a cooperative elevator at Ruthven, Iowa1936Signs in a cooperative elevator at Ruthven, IowaRecess at country school house near Ruthven, Iowa1936Recess at country school house near Ruthven, IowaUntitled photo, possibly related to: Recess at country school house near Ruthven, Iowa1936Untitled photo, possibly related to: Recess at countr…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Recess at country school house near Ruthven, Iowa1936Untitled photo, possibly related to: Recess at countr…
1940s–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
On the map

Ruthven on the map in 1985

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ruthven.

Ruthven on the 1985 USGS map1985Estherville sheet · 1:100,000

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

Every building

Ruthven, building by building, 1901–1909

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Ruthven fire insurance map, 1901, sheet 11901Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

Refrigerating machine in cooperative creamery
Retake this viewRefrigerating machine in cooperative creamery, 1936

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Ruthven, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 868

Between 73 and 868 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Help out

Finish Ruthven’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewRefrigerating machine in cooperative cr…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Ruthven’s history

What year was Ruthven founded?

The Ruthven post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 the Library of Congress (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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.