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B+History
History · Sumner

Sumner’s post office opened in 1858, and 48% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 74% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Sumner High School and the Bank of Sumner. Below: maps from 1895 on and the census since 1880.

1858first post office
2on the National Register
48%homes built before 1940
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Sumner began

When was Sumner founded?

1858

The Sumner post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1870.

First census: 285 in 18802020 census: 2,030168 years

How historic is Sumner?

B+

More historic than 74% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Sumner post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1870.
History grade

What drives Sumner’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sumner is more historic than 74% 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 Sumner’s overall grade.
Founding era1858, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194047.8% of homes (±6.9) · typical IA town 21.6% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register2 listings, 9.5 per 10,000 residents · typical IA town 9.1 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 74%
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 Sumner’s 9.5 sits near the middle of its state (56% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±6.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1870 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

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 Sumner’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 Sumner are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Sumner’s homes were built before 1943.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1895 to 1913, drew every building in Sumner.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sumner’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Sumner, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Sumner yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Sumner is a city in Bremer County, Iowa, United States. The city is located along the county's eastern border, between Bremer and Fayette counties. The population was 2,030 at the time of the 2020 census. The Bremer County portion of Sumner is part of the Waterloo–Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town was established in 1870, and incorporated in 1894. The community is named after American political leader Charles Sumner. Sumner is home to Life Line Emergency Vehicles, a major manufacturer of ambulances.

Its first post office opened in 1858. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 2,028 in 2010, 2,030 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Every building

Sumner, 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.

Sumner fire insurance map, 1895, sheet 11895Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Sumner, 1858 to 1971

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858Post officeThe Sumner post office opens
  3. 1868Born hereWilliam H. Ketcham is born here
  4. 1897BuiltBank of Sumner is built
  5. 20th century
  6. 1910Born hereLes Tietje is born here
  7. 1924Born hereMary Louise Boehm is born here
  8. 1951Born hereRandi Oakes is born here
  9. 1971On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Sumner, decade by decade

Today4 recent
FI0007898 Sumner 19102022FI0007898 Sumner 1910Summer High School (Summer, Iowa)2017Summer High School (Summer, Iowa)Photograph of the Bank of2014Photograph of the Bank ofSumner IA, October 20132013Sumner IA, October 2013
On the map

Sumner on the map, 1971 to 1984

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

Sumner on the 1971 USGS mapSumner on the 1984 USGS map1971Sumner 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 Sumner.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Sumner

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2004
Sumner High School
Sumner High SchoolBank of Sumner, built 1897
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Romanesque1
Classical Revival1
Queen Anne1
Sumner High SchoolRomanesque
Bank of SumnerQueen Anne · Built 1897

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

People over time

Sumner, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,335

Between 285 and 2,335 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Sumner

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

See all →
M
Mary Louise BoehmAmerican musician · b. 1924
Randi OakesAmerican actress and fashion model · b. 1951
William H. KetchamAmerican clergyman · b. 1868
Les TietjeAmerican baseball player · b. 1910
R
Ruth Hurmence GreenAmerican author · b. 1915
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Sumner’s post office has been open since 1858.

Gone or out of use
Sumnerlocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Sumner
Mount CalvaryUnion Mound

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

Questions about Sumner’s history

What year was Sumner founded?

The Sumner post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1870.

How does Sumner rank for history?

Sumner is more historic than 74% 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 Sumner?

Two places: the Sumner High School (listed 2004) and the Bank of Sumner (2004).

How old are the homes in Sumner?

48% of Sumner’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.9 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1943.

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 (4), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.