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–Not graded
History · Jordan

Jordan’s post office opened in 1851, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1923 on.

1851first post office
0on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Jordan began

When was Jordan founded?

1851

The Jordan post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 602175 years
Founding year: the first Jordan post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Jordan’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 Jordan are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Jordan’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Jordan’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 Jordan came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Jordan.

Read it all →

The first settlement, within the limits now comprising the town of Jordan, was made by William Brazel. In 1836, he raised the first corn and in 1837 raised the first crop of wheat in the township. Others to follow him were: John and George Shelton from Virginia in 1836, Lars Larson Bothan from Norway in 1843, brothers Ole Iverson from Vik Municipality, Norway, in 1843 and Axel Iverson from Voss Municipality, Norway, in 1844, Curtis Hard and Henry Crary in 1845. At the junction of Jordan Creek and the Pecatonica River, the early settlers believed there would some day be a city. Steamboats came up the river to that point in 1845.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Jordan, 1851 to 1923

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1851Post officeThe Jordan post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1904Post officeThe Jordan post office closes
  5. 1923On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Jordan, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Jordan Center Town Hall2017Jordan Center Town Hall
On the map

Jordan on the map, 1923 to 1962

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

Jordan on the 1923 USGS mapJordan on the 1962 USGS map1923South Wayne sheet · 1:62,500

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Jordan had its own post office from 1851 to 1904.

Jordan
1851–1904
18501940today
1cemetery inside Jordan
Lewis

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.

MonroeIts storyC+Wiota2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAdamsIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCadizIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Jordan’s history

What year was Jordan founded?

The Jordan post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.