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History · New Strawn

Half of New Strawn’s homes were built after 1977

Most of New Strawn was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1885 on and the census since 1980.

0on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about New Strawn’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 New Strawn are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18855 editions of the USGS map, 1885 to 1990. Watch New Strawn change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start New Strawn’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how New Strawn’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

New Strawn on the map, 1885 to 1990

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

New Strawn on the 1885 USGS mapNew Strawn on the 1894 USGS mapNew Strawn on the 1971 USGS mapNew Strawn on the 1985 USGS mapNew Strawn on the 1990 USGS map1885Burlington 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 New Strawn.

The story

How New Strawn came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of New Strawn.

Read it all →

The city of New Strawn came about when John Redmond Reservoir was built in the early 1960s, causing the original town of Strawn to be claimed by the Army Corps of Engineers for flood area. The old city of Strawn is usually available for exploration, but will be underwater if the lake is up. Very little is left of "old" Strawn today, although Main Street can still be traveled when dry.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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

New Strawn, census by census

0100200300400500198020002020Peak: 457

Between 394 and 457 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to New Strawn

Nobody well known was born in New Strawn itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Christian BraunAmerican basketball player · b. 2001
Olive Ann BeechAmerican businesswoman · b. 1904
Ennis WhiteheadUnited States Army general · b. 1895
F
Fran WelchAmerican football coach · b. 1895
W
Walt KinzieAmerican baseball player · b. 1858
William Thomas FitzsimonsAmerican World War I casualty · b. 1889

Questions about New Strawn’s history

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, 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.