Williamsburg dates to 1856, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 48% of U.S. towns · #104 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
Its Register listing is the David and M. Maria Hughes House. Its Register listing is the David and M. Maria Hughes House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1890.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1860.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Williamsburg’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Williamsburg is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #104 of 140 in Iowa. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Williamsburg’s overall grade.
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 Williamsburg’s 3.0 sits near the middle of its state (39% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1856.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.6 points).
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 →
What stands out about Williamsburg’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
Williamsburg was laid out in 1856 by a Welsh immigrant, Richard Williams. In 1860 the town petitioned to receive a post office, and Homer Paige was declared the postmaster. Paige named the post office Stellapolis, after his youngest daughter Stella. This was likely in an attempt to differentiate the town from nearby Millersburg. In the 1870s there was an attempt to change the name to Chester, and deeds from that decade often list the town as “Chester, formerly Williamsburg.” The name disputes were ended in 1885, when the town was incorporated as Williamsburg after the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad passed through the year before and brought a population boom.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds
Williamsburg’s post office has been open since 1884. Another post office, Stellapolis, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Stellapolis
1860–1884
Williamsburg
1884–today
18601940today
Gone or out of use
Williamsburglocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Williamsburg
Oak HillSaint Paul Lutheran
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Williamsburg’s history
What year was Williamsburg founded?
In 1856, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Williamsburg’s post office opened in 1860, and the census of 1890 counted 635 people here.
How does Williamsburg rank for history?
Williamsburg is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #104 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.
What is on the National Register in Williamsburg?
One place: the David and M. Maria Hughes House (listed 1996).
How old are the homes in Williamsburg?
17% of Williamsburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.6 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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