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History · Holyrood

Holyrood dates to 1874, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1910.

1874founded
0on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
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Photo: SharonPapierdreams · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Holyrood began

When was Holyrood founded?

1874

Holyrood dates its founding to 1874 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 361 in 19102020 census: 403152 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1874.The full story ↓

What stands out about Holyrood’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 Holyrood are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18943 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1985. Watch Holyrood change.Boom and bustPeaked at 748 in 1950; 403 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Holyrood’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Holyrood’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Holyrood on the map, 1894 to 1985

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

Holyrood on the 1894 USGS mapHolyrood on the 1964 USGS mapHolyrood on the 1985 USGS map1894Ellsworth 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 Holyrood.

People over time

Holyrood, census by census

0200400600800192019401960198020002020Peak: 748

Peaked at 748 in 1950; 403 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Holyrood came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Holyrood.

Read it all →

Holyrood was founded in 1874 and was established as a city in 1886. The original site of Holyrood was a half-mile south of Holyrood's present site. When settlers first moved into the area, dugout houses were the home of choice. The first settlers of Holyrood were Irish, but they were soon followed by people of German and Czech Origin. Some of the first names to appear in the area were Phelan, Corrigan, Schepmann, and Siemsen as noted in the St. Peter Lutheran Church's earliest records.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Holyrood, 1874 to 1950

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874
    FoundingHolyrood is established
  3. 1874Post officeThe Hollyrood post office opens
  4. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1898Post officeThe Hollyrood post office closes
  6. 1898Post officeThe Holyrood post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 748
By decade

Holyrood, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Dr. Caldwell's Syrup Pepsin, circa 1911 - Burdick, Indiana2021Dr. Caldwell's Syrup Pepsin, circa 1911 - Burdick, In…Bushton and2014Bushton andBushton and2014Bushton andKSMap-doton-Holyrood2004KSMap-doton-Holyrood
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Holyrood’s post office has been open since 1898. Another post office, Hollyrood, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hollyrood
1874–1898
Holyrood
1898–today
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Holyrood Municipal Airportairport
1cemetery inside Holyrood
Saint Pauls United Church of Christ

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

Questions about Holyrood’s history

What year was Holyrood founded?

In 1874, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Holyrood’s post office opened in 1874, and the census of 1910 counted 361 people here.

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 (4), Wikidata (1), 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.