Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 48% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: old-book passages.
The Sheffield post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1876. Another post office, Shobe's Grove (1861), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
More historic than 48% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sheffield is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Sheffield’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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sheffield’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Sheffield.
Sheffield was platted in 1874, and it was named for a personal friend of the founder's. Sheffield was incorporated in 1876.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Sheffield, cut from the printed page as they were published.
In January, 1878, the meeting place was changed to the schoolhouse in Sheffield, and in February of the same year the name was changed to the First Baptist Church of Sheffield and the society was incorporated as such in September, 1880. Elder Button was at that time in charge and under his administration a church building was erected in May, 1881, at a cost of $2,300. A parsonage was built and completed in 1888. After many years' service this building was sold and the money held in trust until the fall of 1897, when
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
supplied by J. Darwin. In 1871 it was supplied by William Gough, and when the Northwest Iowa Conference was organized, all that part of Rockwell that lay within the bounds of that conference was cut off and the circuit then consisted of Rockwell, Sheffield, Chapin and a schoolhouse east of Chapin. In 1888 Sheffield and Chapin were taken from Rockwell and the charges were changed that year to Sheffield but they were not divided until 1891.
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Sheffield’s post office has been open since 1874. Another post office, Shobe's Grove, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Sheffield post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1876.
Sheffield is more historic than 48% 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.
33% of Sheffield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.4 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1958.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
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