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History · Willey

Willey’s post office opened in 1887, and 68% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1971 on and the census since 1920.

1887first post office
0on the National Register
68%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Willey began

When was Willey founded?

1887

The Willey post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 176 in 19202020 census: 73139 years
Founding year: the first Willey post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Willey’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 Willey are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Willey’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Willey’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Willey’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
The story so far

Willey, in brief

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

Willey is a city in Carroll County, Iowa, United States. The population was 73 at the time of the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1887. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 88 to 73 (-17%).

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

Timeline

Willey, 1887 to 1971

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887Post officeThe Willey post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1901Post officeThe Willey post office closes
  5. 1907Born hereFrank Henry Greteman is born here
  6. 1923Born hereRalph G. Neppel is born here
  7. 1971On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Willey, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Willey, IA2020Willey, IAIAMap-doton-Willey2004IAMap-doton-Willey
On the map

Willey on the map, 1971 to 1993

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Willey. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Willey on the 1971 USGS mapWilley on the 1984 USGS mapWilley on the 1993 USGS map1971Dedham 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 Willey.

People over time

Willey, census by census

0100192019401960198020002020Peak: 176

Between 72 and 176 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Willey

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
F
Frank Henry GretemanAmerican prelate of the Roman Catholic Church; … · b. 1907
Ralph G. NeppelUnited States Army Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1923
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Willey had its own post office from 1887 to 1901.

Willey
1887–1901
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Willey Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Willey
Saint Mary's Catholic

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

Questions about Willey’s history

What year was Willey founded?

The Willey post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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), 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) 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.