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History · Tingley

Tingley’s post office opened in 1868, and 38% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1981 on and the census since 1890.

1868first post office
0on the National Register
38%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Tingley began

When was Tingley founded?

1868

The Tingley post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1883.

First census: 295 in 18902020 census: 136158 years
Founding year: the first Tingley post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1883.

What stands out about Tingley’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 Tingley are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 488 in 1900; 136 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Tingley’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Tingley’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Tingley’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
People over time

Tingley, census by census

01002003004005001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 488

Peaked at 488 in 1900; 136 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story so far

Tingley, in brief

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

Tingley is a city in northern Ringgold County, Iowa, United States. The population was 136 at the time of the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1868. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 184 to 136 (-26%).

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

Timeline

Tingley, 1868 to 1981

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1868Post officeThe Tingley post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 488
  5. 1981On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Tingley, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Tingley, IA2019Tingley, IAIAMap-doton-Tingley2004IAMap-doton-Tingley
On the map

Tingley on the map in 1981

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Tingley.

Tingley on the 1981 USGS map1981Tingley 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 Tingley.

Famous people

Famous people close to Tingley

Nobody well known was born in Tingley itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Marcia Wallace PeamsAmerican actress and comedian · b. 1942
W
Walter CunninghamAmerican astronaut · b. 1932
Julee CruiseAmerican musician · b. 1956
Bourke B. HickenlooperAmerican politician · b. 1896
Meridel Le SueurAmerican writer and social activist · b. 1900
H. R. GrossAmerican politician · b. 1899
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Tingley’s post office has been open since 1868.

Gone or out of use
Tingleylocale

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

Questions about Tingley’s history

What year was Tingley founded?

The Tingley post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1883.

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), 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.