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History · Williamson

Williamson’s post office opened in 1921, and 74% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Williamson School. Below: maps from 1982 on and the census since 1930.

1921first post office
1on the National Register
74%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Williamson began

When was Williamson founded?

1921

The Williamson post office opened in 1921, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Gunwald (1915), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 814 in 19302020 census: 120105 years
Founding year: the first Williamson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

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

Start Williamson’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Williamson’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

Williamson, in brief

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

Williamson is a city in Lucas County, Iowa, United States. The population was 120 at the time of the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1921. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 152 to 120 (-21%).

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

Timeline

Williamson, 1915 to 1982

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1915Post officeThe Gunwald post office opens
  3. 1921Post officeThe Gunwald post office closes
  4. 1921Post officeThe Williamson post office opens
  5. 1982On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Williamson, decade by decade

Today1 recent
IAMap-doton-Williamson2004IAMap-doton-Williamson
On the map

Williamson on the map in 1982

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Williamson.

Williamson on the 1982 USGS map1982Chariton 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 Williamson.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Williamson

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1998
Williamson School
Williamson School
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals1
Williamson SchoolLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals

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

People over time

Williamson, census by census

020040060080019401960198020002020Peak: 814

Between 120 and 814 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Williamson’s post office has been open since 1921. Another post office, Gunwald, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gunwald
1915–1921
Williamson
1921–today
19101970today

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

Questions about Williamson’s history

What year was Williamson founded?

The Williamson post office opened in 1921, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Williamson?

One place: the Williamson School (listed 1998).

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 (1), 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.