Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 69% of U.S. towns · #72 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
3 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, a National Historic Landmark, and two historic districts with 67 buildings between them. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1880.
The West Branch post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name.
West Branch’s name is derived from the meeting place of the West Branch Quakers, and the location of the city on the west branch of the Wapsinonoc Creek.
More historic than 69% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, West Branch is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #72 of 140 in Iowa. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
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 West Branch’s 262 sits above most of its state (96% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 68 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
★ Landmark
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
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.
1895Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From Wikipedia’s history of West Branch.
West Branch was laid out in 1869 by Joseph Steer. It was incorporated in 1875.
The city was first settled chiefly by Quakers from Ohio. Its name is derived from the meeting place of the West Branch Quakers, and the location of the city on the west branch of the Wapsinonoc Creek. Most of Main Street is part of the West Branch Commercial Historic District.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention West Branch, cut from the printed page as they were published.
In 18G0, tliere was but a small settlement at West Branch. There were two houses, one store, one shop and a school house. Digitized by Google
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
*' Quaker" settlement of Cedar County. Wherever a settlement of Friends was to be found, there John Brown was snre of kind treatment. Springdale was one station of the noted underatrand railroad." He stopped at the "Traveler's Rest,*' the only tavern in West Branch, kept by James Townsend, probably in December, and dismountinn:, astonished the genial landlord by nsking: "Have you ever heard of John Brown, of Kansas?" Without replyin;:, Mr. Townsend took a piece <»f clinlk from his vest jiocket and, taking BroAvn s hat, marked thereon a large X ; replaced the hat ; deliberately marked Brown
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.
In the archiveNewspaper Advertisement, 1877
In the archiveWest Branch School, c. 1880
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
In the archiveFormer Jesse Hoover Building (second from right) and Old Town Hall, 1900
In the archiveA.W. Thomas postcard (back)
In the archiveElection Day in West Branch, 1928BuiltHerbert Hoover National Historic Site is built5 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1877Newspaper Advertisement, 1877Document
1878West Branch School, 1878
1879Newspaper Advertisement, 1879Documentc. 1880West Branch School, c. 18801900Former Jesse Hoover Building (second from right) and …
c. 1900Friends Church & Parsonage, circa 1900
1900G.M.D. Hill, 1900
c. 1905West Branch Train Depot, circa 1905Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of West Branch. 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 West Branch.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on West Branch’s page.
Retake this view · +15Grew from 501 people in 1880 to 2,509 in 2020, 5 times over.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on West Branch’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
West Branch’s post office has been open since 1854.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
The West Branch post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
West Branch is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #72 of 140 in Iowa. 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.
Three places: the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site (listed 1966), the Gruwell and Crew General Store (1982) and the West Branch Commercial Historic District (1987).
13% of West Branch’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.3 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1993.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (11), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
1928
1928