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–Not graded
History · Van Meter Township

13% of Van Meter Township’s homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: maps from 1896 on.

1on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Van Meter Township’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 Van Meter Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Van Meter Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Van Meter Township’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 so far

Van Meter Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Van Meter Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 77 to 110 (+43%).

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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On the map

Van Meter Township on the map, 1896 to 1985

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

Van Meter Township on the 1896 USGS mapVan Meter Township on the 1985 USGS map1896Columbia 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 Van Meter Township.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Van Meter Township

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Kentner TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEllendale TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAda TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Van Meter Township’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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.