Founding year: the first Strawberry Point post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Strawberry Point’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Strawberry Point is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Strawberry Point’s overall grade.
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 Strawberry Point’s 7.9 sits near the middle of its state (53% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 →
What stands out about Strawberry Point’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Strawberry Point. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1901Oelwein sheet · 1:125,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Strawberry Point.
Every building
Strawberry Point, building by building, 1895–1913
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.
1895Sheet 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.
The story so far
Strawberry Point, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Strawberry Point yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Strawberry Point is a city in Clayton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,155 at the time of the 2020 United States census, down from 1,386 in 2000 census. Strawberry Point is home to the world's largest strawberry (a 15-foot fiberglass statue), and the Franklin Hotel, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. Backbone State Park, Iowa's oldest state park, is located a few miles from the town.
Its first post office opened in 1852. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,279 to 1,155 (-10%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Strawberry Point, 1882–1916
Passages that mention Strawberry Point, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Clayton County, Iowa1916 · page 457Read the page →
Read the text
Bemis place, had Sunday school and preaching in his house and when the first log school house was built opposite the cemetery, in 1853, regular preaching services were held there and also in the first frame school house in Strawberry Point, built in 1853. In 1856, the Baptist church was built in Strawberry Point by popular subscription and was a most excellent church edifice. While built as a Baptist church all denominations from time to time held services there. The first Baptist minister was Rev. Root, of Delhi, who lived in Delhi and came up
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Clayton County, Iowa1916 · page 254Read the page →
Read the text
Industrial Progress — Before 1880, the creamery movement gained ground in Clayton county and these soon became established, not on>y in the towns but throughout the country. Strawberry Point became a great center for the butter industry and was known as the "Cream City." This industry gave a great impetus to Strawberry Point and in the summer of 1881 the improvements in that city amounted to $13,000 and the lumber sales for the three months, preceding August, amounted to 150,000 feet. The establishment of the creameries and the profits
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Clayton County, together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships ... biographies of representative citizens1882 · page 701Read the page →
Read the text
turned to bis native State, where he remained two years, then came again to Clayton County. He rented the farm which he had bought when he first came to the county, and cultivated it two years, then removed into the town of Strawberry Point. In part¬ nership with B. Busliee he established a butcher shop, and also handled butter and eggs. They ran a line of teams from Mc¬ Gregor to this place, carrying their produce to and from the mar¬ kets. Mi\ Phelps remained in this business two years, and in
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Clayton County, together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships ... biographies of representative citizens1882 · page 974Read the page →
Read the text
tingham, England, where he taught until 1852, when he came to America to join his brother in Winnebago County, Ill. He and brother owned and managed a stock-farm and saw-mill. In 1855 Mr. Crooke came to Iowa and located at Strawberry Point, Clayton County, where he clerked a couple of years in a general merchan¬ dise store, then purchased a partnership in a grocery store, which he held for one year, when he was elected J ustice of the Peace, and appointed Postmaster and notary public, and engaged in the
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.
Timeline
Strawberry Point, 1852 to 1901
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Strawberry Point’s post office has been open since 1852.
Gone or out of use
Strawberry Pointlocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Strawberry Point
Saint MaryStrawberry Point Methodist
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Strawberry Point’s history
What year was Strawberry Point founded?
The Strawberry Point post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Strawberry Point rank for history?
Strawberry Point is more historic than 69% 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.
What is on the National Register in Strawberry Point?
One place: the Franklin Hotel (listed 1999).
How old are the homes in Strawberry Point?
40% of Strawberry Point’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.9 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1954.
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 (8), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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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