The story
Read it all →How Garfield came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Garfield.
Garfield is named for James A. Garfield, the 20th President of the United States.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Garfield
Garfield’s post office opened in 1873, and 65% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1889 on and the census since 1910.
1873first post office
0on the National Register
65%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Garfield began
When was Garfield founded?
1873
The Garfield post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 333 in 19102020 census: 151153 years
Founding year: the first Garfield post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Garfield’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 Garfield are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18894 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1985. Watch Garfield change.Old housesHalf of Garfield’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 451 in 1930; 151 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Garfield’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Garfield’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Garfield on the map, 1889 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Garfield. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1889Larned sheet · 1:125,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Garfield.
Timeline
Garfield, 1873 to 1930
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1873Post officeThe Garfield post office opens
- 1889
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 20th century
- 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 451
By decade
Garfield, decade by decade
2009
2005
2005
2005People over time
Garfield, census by census
Peaked at 451 in 1930; 151 people lived here in 2020.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Garfield’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Garfield
Nobody well known was born in Garfield itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
D
Dale BurnettAmerican football player · b. 1909
M
Mitch WebsterAmerican baseball player · b. 1959
B
Belle BenchleyAmerican zoo director · b. 1882G
Glee S. Smith, Jr.American lawyer and politician · b. 1921Questions about Garfield’s history
What year was Garfield founded?
The Garfield post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (4), Wikipedia, 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.