The Winfield post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Shockley (1852), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 461 in 18902020 census: 1,033174 years
How historic is Winfield?
B−
More historic than 49% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Winfield post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Winfield’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Winfield is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Winfield’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 Winfield’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (17% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 →
What stands out about Winfield’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Winfield was laid out in 1852. It experienced a growth with the arrival of the Burlington and Northwestern Railway in late 1876, connecting the town with Burlington. The line was extended along the east side of town and reached Washington at the start of 1880, and in 1881, the Burlington and Western Railway was incorporated to build a line from Winfield to Oskaloosa. The new line branched from the Burlington and Northwestern just north of town reached Coppock the spring of 1882 and Oskaloosa in late 1883. These were 3 ft gauge railways.
Passages that mention Winfield, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Henry county, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c., a biographical directory of citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion, general and local statistics ... history of the Northwest, history of1879 · page 554Read the page →
Read the text
It was run until 1872, when the machinery was taken to Winfield and a mill started there. In addition to a saw-mill that was built in 1856, W. Williams erected a woolen-mill here in 1861. Both the mill and factory were closed in 1866.
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.
Timeline
Winfield, 1852 to 1981
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Winfield.
Every building
Winfield, building by building, 1917
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 sheet.
1917Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
People over time
Winfield, census by census
Between 461 and 1,134 people in every census since 1890.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Winfield’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices and places now gone
Winfield’s post office has been open since 1852. Another post office, Shockley, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Shockley
1852–1852
Winfield
1852–today
18501940today
Gone or out of use
Winfieldlocale
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Winfield’s history
What year was Winfield founded?
The Winfield post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Winfield rank for history?
Winfield is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in Winfield?
35% of Winfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.9 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1957.
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 (4), 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.
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