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History · West Bend

West Bend’s post office opened in 1862, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Grotto of the Redemption and the First Presbyterian Church. Below: maps from 1980 on and the census since 1890.

1862first post office
2on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How West Bend began

When was West Bend founded?

1862

The West Bend post office opened in 1862, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 325 in 18902020 census: 791164 years
Founding year: the first West Bend post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about West Bend’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 West Bend are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start West Bend’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How West Bend came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of West Bend.

Read it all →

West Bend got its start in the early 1880s, following the construction of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway through that territory. It was originally called Ives after the president of the railroad, but the townspeople had it changed to West Bend from the bend in the river. West Bend (aka Ives) was the first town in Palo Alto County. A special five cent tax to build a railroad station was promised to the railroad if they would create a stop when the railroad was built, which was done.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

West Bend, decade by decade

Today1 recent
IAMap-doton-WestBend2004IAMap-doton-WestBend
On the map

West Bend on the map in 1980

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of West Bend.

West Bend on the 1980 USGS map1980West Bend 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 West Bend.

On the National Register

2 historic places in West Bend

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
2001
Grotto of the Redemption
Grotto of the RedemptionFirst Presbyterian Church
BuildingsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian1
Grotto of the RedemptionStructure
All 2 listings
First Presbyterian ChurchBuilding · listed 2010

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

People over time

West Bend, census by census

02004006008001,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 969

Between 325 and 969 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Questions about West Bend’s history

What year was West Bend founded?

The West Bend post office opened in 1862, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in West Bend?

Two places: the Grotto of the Redemption (listed 2001) and the First Presbyterian Church (2010).

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 (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.