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History · Wayland

Wayland’s post office opened in 1880, and 40% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 22 buildings.

1880first post office
2on the National Register
40%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Bill Whittaker Uploaded by Billwhittaker at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Wayland began

When was Wayland founded?

1880

The Wayland post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Crooked Creek (1843) and Marshall (1851), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

2020 census: 964146 years
Founding year: the first Wayland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Wayland’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 Wayland are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe West Main Street Residential Historic District takes in 22 historic buildings.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Wayland.Old housesHalf of Wayland’s homes were built before 1961.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wayland’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wayland’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
On the National Register

2 listings protect 24 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
24
each building in a district counts
first listed
2021
Christian K. and Margaret (Rich) Schantz House …
Christian K. and Margaret (Rich) Schantz House and Carpentry ShopWest Main Street Residential Historic District
BuildingsDistricts
All 2 listings
Christian K. and Margaret (Rich) Schantz House and Carpentry ShopBuilding · listed 2021West Main Street Residential Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2023

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Wayland’s post office has been open since 1880. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Crooked Creek
1843–1851
Marshall
1851–1880
Wayland
1880–today
18401930today
Gone or out of use
Waylandlocale
1cemetery inside Wayland
Wayland

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

The story

How Wayland came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wayland.

Read it all →

Wayland was originally known as Crooked Creek. Crooked Creek became a voting precinct on October 5, 1840. The first burial is given to John Bullock, in 1838. He came as a surveyor to this region in 1837. The need to establish a post office followed. Rufus M. Pickell, one of the local leaders, was appointed on February 3, 1843, postmaster for the land east of the Skunk River and south of Crooked Creek. Pickell was also a blacksmith by trade. Establishing a church followed, so the little log cabin Methodist Church was built in 1844. From 1851 to 1880, the town was known as Marshall. Christian Roth Sr. erected a brewery on his homestead in 1856, which was completed at a cost of over $4,000. Until its closing by laws passed in 1884, it had done a prosperous business and had a capacity of 10 barrels a day. Confusion over the name Marshall, Henry County and Marshalltown, Iowa, especially wit…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Wayland, 1843 to 1997

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1843Post officeThe Crooked Creek post office opens
  3. 1851Post officeThe Crooked Creek post office closes
  4. 1851Post officeThe Marshall post office opens
  5. 1880Post officeThe Marshall post office closes
  6. 1880Post officeThe Wayland post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1997Born hereJoe Mitchell is born here
By decade

Wayland, decade by decade

Today4 recent
IA78 West2016IA78 WestWayland, Iowa2013Wayland, IowaWayland, iowa2010Wayland, iowaIAMap-doton-Wayland2004IAMap-doton-Wayland

Questions about Wayland’s history

What year was Wayland founded?

The Wayland post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Wayland?

Two places: the Christian K. and Margaret (Rich) Schantz House and Carpentry Shop (listed 2021) and the West Main Street Residential Historic District (2023).

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 (4), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.