Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1979 on and the census since 1910.
The Varina post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name.
Varina was named after Varina Farms, a plantation established by John Rolfe in Jamestown, Virginia.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Varina’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Varina.
Varina got its start in the year 1899, following construction of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway through that territory. It was named after Varina Farms, a plantation established by John Rolfe in Jamestown, Virginia.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Peaked at 235 in 1920; 68 people lived here in 2020.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Varina’s Wikipedia page.
Passages that mention Varina, cut from the printed page as they were published.
he married Minnie Porath, of Buena Vista County. In 1895 he located on the NEi of section 31, Dover township, on which the town of Varina was located in 1899. Hauser's first addition to Varina was platted by him Dec. 26, 1899, and in 1901 he was chosen a member of the first town
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Fonda to Spencer; a new depot was built at Fonda north of the Illinois Central railroad and a station was established at Varina. A track laying machine began to lay this track north of Fonda, at the rate of two miles a day, on Nov. 13th.
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Varina. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Varina.
Nobody well known was born in Varina itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Varina’s post office has been open since 1899.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Varina post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikipedia, 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 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.
