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History · Smithland

Smithland’s post office opened in 1856, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1969 on, and the census since 1890.

1856first post office
0on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Smithland’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Smithland began

When was Smithland founded?

1856

The Smithland post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 369 in 18902020 census: 181170 years
Founding year: the first Smithland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Smithland’s past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 435 in 1900; 181 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Smithland’s homes were built before 1953.
★ What stands out · People over time

Smithland, census by census

01002003004001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 435

Peaked at 435 in 1900; 181 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story

How Smithland came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Smithland.

Read it all →

Smithland is one of the oldest settlements in Woodbury County. In 1857, clashes between settlers and Native Americans began at what is now Smithland which would afterward culminate in the Spirit Lake Massacre.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Smithland, 1856 to 1969

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856Post officeThe Smithland post office opens
  3. 1891Born hereGeorge Myron Clark is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 435
  6. 1936In the archiveChristmas dinner in home of Earl Pauley, near Smithland, Iowa, 8b30046
  7. 1969On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Smithland, decade by decade

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

1930s6 items
Christmas dinner in home of Earl Pauley, near Smithland, Iowa, 8b300461936Christmas dinner in home of Earl Pauley, near Smithla…Christmas dinner in home of Earl Pauley, near Smithland, Iowa, 8b30046a1936Christmas dinner in home of Earl Pauley, near Smithla…Earl Pauley's home near Smithland, Iowa1936Earl Pauley's home near Smithland, IowaBaby in crib, Earl Pauley's home near Smithland Iowa1936Baby in crib, Earl Pauley's home near Smithland IowaChildren of Earl Pauley in doorway, near Smithland, Iowa1936Children of Earl Pauley in doorway, near Smithland, I…Blind and thin horse on Glen Cook's farm near Smithland, Iowa1936Blind and thin horse on Glen Cook's farm near Smithla…
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

Smithland on the map, 1969 to 1985

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

Smithland on the 1969 USGS mapSmithland on the 1985 USGS map1969Smithland 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 Smithland.

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.

Christmas dinner in home of Earl Pauley, near Smithland, Iowa, 8b30046
Retake this viewChristmas dinner in home of Earl Pauley, near Smithland, Iowa, 8b30046, 1936

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Smithland’s post office has been open since 1856.

Gone or out of use
Smithlandlocale

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

Help out

Finish Smithland’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 viewChristmas dinner in home of Earl Pauley…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Smithland’s history

What year was Smithland founded?

The Smithland post office opened in 1856, 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 (2), the Library of Congress (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.