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History · Silver City

Silver City’s post office opened in 1879, and 82% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 1880.

1879first post office
0on the National Register
82%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Silver City began

When was Silver City founded?

1879

The Silver City post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Ward (1867), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 185 in 18802020 census: 245147 years
Founding year: the first Silver City post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Silver City’s 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 Silver City are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Silver City’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 438 in 1900; 245 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Silver City’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Silver City’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 Silver City came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Silver City.

Read it all →

Silver City had its start in the year 1879 by the building of the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railway through that territory.

In its busiest time, Silver City was home to a lumber yard, grocery store, horse racing track, jewelry store, pharmacy and other businesses. An annual carnival would visit as well.

Silver City is currently home to the Loyal Lassies/Ingraham Straight Shooters 4-H club as well as the Silver City Library and historical society. Silver City Volunteer Fire & Rescue services the town and immediate area. Mills County Sheriffs Department provides emergency response and patrol services.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Silver City, census by census

010020030040018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 438

Peaked at 438 in 1900; 245 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Timeline

Silver City, 1867 to 1956

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1867Post officeThe Ward post office opens
  3. 1868Post officeThe Ward post office closes
  4. 1879Post officeThe Silver City post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 438
  7. 1933Born hereGerald D. Jones is born here
  8. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Silver City, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Silver City, IA22017Silver City, IA2Silver City, IA2017Silver City, IASilver City Jail2017Silver City JailIAMap-doton-SilverCity2004IAMap-doton-SilverCity
On the map

Silver City on the map, 1956 to 1994

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

Silver City on the 1956 USGS mapSilver City on the 1984 USGS mapSilver City on the 1994 USGS map1956Glenwood sheet · 1:24,000

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Silver City’s post office has been open since 1879. Another post office, Ward, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Ward
1867–1868
Silver City
1879–today
18601940today
Gone or out of use
Silver CitylocaleWard Post Officepost office

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Silver City’s history

What year was Silver City founded?

The Silver City 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 Wikimedia Commons (4), 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.