Marion dates to 1795, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 83% of U.S. towns · #378 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Ezra T. Phelps Farm Complex. Its Register listing is the Ezra T. Phelps Farm Complex. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1899 on, and the census since 1830.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1826.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Marion’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Marion is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #378 of 758 in New York. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Marion’s overall grade.
New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Marion’s 6.6 sits near the middle of its state (39% of New York towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1795.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.1 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Marion’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Marion was part of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase. The area was first settled around 1795.
The Town of Marion was created from the Town of Williamson on April 18, 1825, as the "Town of Winchester." It was renamed in 1826 for Francis Marion, a brigadier general from South Carolina in the American Revolutionary War.
The Ezra T. Phelps Farm Complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.
Passages that mention Marion, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Marion County, Iowa, and its people1915 · page 235Read the page →
Read the text
About the close of the year 1852 a call was issued by some of the citizens of Marion County for a meeting to be held at the courthouse in Knoxville on January 27, 1853, "to take into consideration the object and propriety of taking stock in the contemplated railroad commencing at Davenport, via Muscatine to Council Bluffs, provided the same be located at or near Knoxville, Marion County." At the appointed time quite a number of persons assembled in the court room. John Harper was elected to preside and E. G. Stanfield was
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Marion, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In 1795, according to Wikidata. Marion’s post office opened in 1826, and the census of 1830 counted 1,981 people here.
How does Marion rank for history?
Marion is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #378 of 758 in New York. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Marion?
One place: the Ezra T. Phelps Farm Complex (listed 1997).
How old are the homes in Marion?
30% of Marion’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.1 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1974.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1874
2013
