–Not graded

History · Jasper

Jasper’s post office opened in 1888, and 52% of its homes were built before 1940

6 places in town are on the National Register. Below: maps from 1967 on and the census since 1890.

1888first post office

6on the National Register

52%homes built before 1940

1famous people

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Quick answers

How Jasper began

When was Jasper founded?

1888

The Jasper post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 372 in 18902020 census: 610138 years

Founding year: the first Jasper post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Jasper’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 Jasper are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Jasper’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 968 in 1920; 610 people lived here in 2020.Landmarks on the Register6 places on the National Register.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Jasper’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Jasper’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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The story

How Jasper came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Jasper.

Read it all →

Jasper was platted in 1888. The city was named for deposits of jasper mined nearby. A post office has been in operation at Jasper since 1888. Jasper was incorporated in 1889.

On July 8, 1927 a tornado near the town was photographed by Lucille Handberg. Her photograph has become a classic image, even appearing on three album covers: Bitches Brew by American jazz musician Miles Davis (1970), as well as English bands Deep Purple (1974) and Siouxsie and the Banshees (1986).

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Jasper, census by census

Peaked at 968 in 1920; 610 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Timeline

Jasper, 1888 to 1967

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

19th century
1888Post officeThe Jasper post office opens
20th century
1904Born hereJimmy Manion is born here
1920CensusPopulation peaks at 968
1967On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey

By decade

Jasper, decade by decade

Today3 recent

2012John Rowe House

2012Gerber Hospital rear

2012Bauman Hall

On the map

Jasper on the map, 1967 to 1985

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

1967Jasper sheet · 1:24,000

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

On the National Register

6 historic places in Jasper

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1978

Jasper Stone Company and Quarry

BuildingsSites

Architectural styles listings

Stick Style1

Bauman HallBuilding

Gerber Hospital and GarageStick Style

All 6 listings

Jasper Stone Company and QuarrySite · listed 1978 Stordahl BuildingBuilding · listed 1980 Jasper School BuildingBuilding · listed 2019 John M. Poorbaugh BlockBuilding · listed 2023

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Jasper’s post office has been open since 1888.

Hamlets and corners on the map

Jasper Sunrise Village

1cemetery inside Jasper

Jasper

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Rose Dell Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Eden Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Jasper’s history

What year was Jasper founded?

The Jasper post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Jasper?

6 listings: 5 buildings and 1 site.

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 (3), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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.

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