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History · Worthington

Worthington dates to 1858, and 41% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1900 on and the census since 1880.

1858founded
0on the National Register
41%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Worthington began

When was Worthington founded?

1858

Worthington dates its founding to 1858 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 169 in 18802020 census: 382168 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1860.The full story ↓

What stands out about Worthington’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 Worthington are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19003 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1984. Watch Worthington change.Old housesHalf of Worthington’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Worthington’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Worthington’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
On the map

Worthington on the map, 1900 to 1984

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

Worthington on the 1900 USGS mapWorthington on the 1965 USGS mapWorthington on the 1984 USGS map1900Farley sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story

How Worthington came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Worthington.

Read it all →

The land on which Worthington is currently located was originally purchased by David Lovelace from the United States Government. The Dubuque South-Western Railroad — the local branch of the Chicago-Milwaukee and St. Paul lines — was contracted to establish a line from Farley to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In 1858, an Englishman named Amos Worthington came to the area to establish a general store. By November of that year, the area became an unincorporated town known as the village of Worthington. By May of the following year regular rail service was established. A plat of Worthington was established with the Dubuque county recorder in 1858.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Worthington, 1858 to 1990

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858
    FoundingWorthington is established
  3. 1860Post officeThe Worthington post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1990Born hereMatt Tobin is born here
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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People over time

Worthington, census by census

010020030040018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 439

Between 162 and 439 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Worthington’s post office has been open since 1860.

Gone or out of use
Worthingtonlocale
1cemetery inside Worthington
Worthington Baptist

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

Questions about Worthington’s history

What year was Worthington founded?

In 1858, according to Wikidata. Worthington’s post office opened in 1860, and the census of 1880 counted 169 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 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.