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A−History
History · Stuart

Stuart’s post office opened in 1870, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 77% of U.S. towns. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1952 on, and the census since 1880.

1870first post office
4on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Stuart began

When was Stuart founded?

1870

The Stuart post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Macksville (1862), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 1,994 in 18802020 census: 1,782156 years

How historic is Stuart?

A−

More historic than 77% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Stuart post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Stuart’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Stuart is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Stuart’s overall grade.
Founding era1870, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194036.7% of homes (±7.7) · typical IA town 21.6% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register4 listings, 24.2 per 10,000 residents · typical IA town 9.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 77%
NewerOlder

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 Stuart’s 24.2 sits above most of its state (70% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.7 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 Stuart’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Stuart’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Stuart’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPlans of Burlington, Greenfield, Fontan…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

4 historic places in Stuart

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Chicago,Rock Island and Pacific Railroad: Stuar…
Chicago,Rock Island and Pacific Railroad: Stuart Passenger StationMasonic Temple BuildingAll Saints Catholic Church, built 1908Sexton Hotel
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Romanesque2
Late Victorian1
Colonial Revival1
Italian Baroque1
Edwardian1
Byzantine1
Chicago,Rock Island and Pacific Railroad: Stuart Passenger StationBuilding
Masonic Temple BuildingLate Victorian
All Saints Catholic ChurchItalian Baroque · Built 1908
Sexton HotelBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Stuart came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Stuart.

Read it all →

Stuart got its start in the late 1860s, following construction of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad through the territory. It is named for Captain Charles Stuart, who was instrumental in bringing the railroad to the city and also founded the city itself.

The settlement was platted on September 29, 1870 and on February 6, 1887, Stuart was officially incorporated.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Stuart, 1862 to 1952

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1862Post officeThe Macksville post office opens
  3. 1870Post officeThe Macksville post office closes
  4. 1870Post officeThe Stuart post office opens
  5. 1875In the archivePlans of Burlington, Greenfield, Fontanelle and Stuart, State of Iowa. (0018.214)
  6. 1875Born hereA. H. Wilkinson is born here
  7. 1879Born hereFred Egan is born here
  8. 20th century
  9. 1908BuiltAll Saints Catholic Church is built
  10. 1914Born hereWilliam R. Peers is born here
  11. 1928Born hereGeorge E. Collins is born here
  12. 1952On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Stuart, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s1 item
Plans of Burlington, Greenfield, Fontanelle and Stuart, State of Iowa. (0018.214)1875Plans of Burlington, Greenfield, Fontanelle and Stuar…
Today8 recent
Phillips 66 Gas Station in2022Phillips 66 Gas Station inHotel Stuart2016Hotel StuartInterstate 80 - Iowa2014Interstate 80 - IowaInterstate 80 - Iowa2014Interstate 80 - IowaMasonic Temple2010Masonic TempleSep264642008Sep26464Stuart Iowa wind turbine2006Stuart Iowa wind turbineIAMap-doton-Stuart2004IAMap-doton-Stuart
On the map

Stuart on the map, 1952 to 1982

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

Stuart on the 1952 USGS mapStuart on the 1982 USGS map1952Panora sheet · 1:62,500

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

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.

Plans of Burlington, Greenfield, Fontanelle and Stuart, State of Iowa. (0018.214)
Retake this viewPlans of Burlington, Greenfield, Fontanelle and Stuart, State of Iowa. (0018.214), 1875

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Stuart, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,079

Between 1,354 and 2,079 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Stuart

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
William R. PeersUnited States general · b. 1914
G
George E. CollinsAmerican mathematician · b. 1928
A. H. WilkinsonAmerican politician · b. 1875
F
Fred EganAmerican harness racing trainer-driver · b. 1879
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Stuart’s post office has been open since 1870. Another post office, Macksville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Macksville
1862–1870
Stuart
1870–today
18601940today
1cemetery inside Stuart
South Oak Grove

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

Questions about Stuart’s history

What year was Stuart founded?

The Stuart post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Stuart rank for history?

Stuart is more historic than 77% 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 Stuart?

4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Chicago,Rock Island and Pacific Railroad: Stuart Passenger Station (listed 1980, the first).

How old are the homes in Stuart?

37% of Stuart’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.7 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1969.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (9), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (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.