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Woodward, IowaPhoto: David Wilson · CC BY 2.0
B+History
History · Woodward

Woodward’s post office opened in 1882, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 69% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Anthony M. McColl House. Its Register listing is the Anthony M. McColl House. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1911 on, and the census since 1890.

1882first post office
1on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Woodward’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Woodward began

When was Woodward founded?

1882

The Woodward post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Xenia (1859), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 328 in 18902020 census: 1,346144 years

How historic is Woodward?

B+

More historic than 69% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Woodward post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Woodward’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Woodward is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Woodward’s overall grade.
Founding era1882, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194037.2% of homes (±9.6) · typical IA town 21.6% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register1 listing, 10.2 per 10,000 residents · typical IA town 9.1 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 69%
NewerOlder

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 Woodward’s 10.2 sits near the middle of its state (57% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.6 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 Woodward’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Woodward’s homes were built before 1958.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Woodward’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Woodward’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewWoodward, IA, birdseye view: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Woodward came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Woodward.

Read it all →

"The town of Woodward was born when the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railway Co reconstructed its lines through the community the depot was constructed. The original name for the town was decided upon as Colton, another town had already adopted the name so the name was changed to Woodward. The City was incorporated in August 1883. The first Council meeting was on December 18, 1883 called to order by Mayor W.S. Craft."

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Woodward, 1859 to 1925

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1859Post officeThe Xenia post office opens
  3. 1882Post officeThe Xenia post office closes
  4. 1882Post officeThe Woodward post office opens
  5. 1894Born hereEarl L. Naiden is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1907In the archiveWoodward, IA, birdseye view
  8. 1911On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1925In the archiveSara Rosemond Voldeng (The Des Moines Register, 1925)
By decade

Woodward, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1920s3 items
Woodward, IA, birdseye view1907Woodward, IA, birdseye viewWoodward, IA, main streets1907Woodward, IA, main streetsSara Rosemond Voldeng (The Des Moines Register, 1925)1925Sara Rosemond Voldeng (The Des Moines Register, 1925)
1930s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today7 recent
Woodward, Iowa2024Woodward, IowaAnthony M McColl House2014Anthony M McColl HouseWoodward Iowa 20090607 Sign2009Woodward Iowa 20090607 SignWoodward Iowa 20090607 Post Office2009Woodward Iowa 20090607 Post OfficeWoodward Iowa 20090607 Library2009Woodward Iowa 20090607 LibraryWoodward Iowa 20090607 City Hall2009Woodward Iowa 20090607 City HallIAMap-doton-Woodward2004IAMap-doton-Woodward
On the map

Woodward on the map, 1911 to 1965

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

Woodward on the 1911 USGS mapWoodward on the 1965 USGS map1911Madrid sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Woodward.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Woodward, IA, birdseye view
Retake this viewWoodward, IA, birdseye view, 1907

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Woodward’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Woodward

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
1987
Anthony M. McColl House
Anthony M. McColl House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Classical Revival1
Eclectic1
Anthony M. McColl HouseClassical Revival

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

People over time

Woodward, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,40019001920194019601980200020201,346

Grew from 328 people in 1890 to 1,346 in 2020, 4 times over.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Woodward’s post office has been open since 1882. Another post office, Xenia, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Xenia
1859–1882
Woodward
1882–today
18501940today
1cemetery inside Woodward
State Hospital

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

Questions about Woodward’s history

What year was Woodward founded?

The Woodward post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Woodward rank for history?

Woodward is more historic than 69% 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.

What is on the National Register in Woodward?

One place: the Anthony M. McColl House (listed 1987).

How old are the homes in Woodward?

37% of Woodward’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.6 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1958.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (8), the Library of Congress (2), 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) 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.