The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Bancroft was platted in 1881. It was named for George Bancroft, an American historian, government official, and diplomat.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items below1881Established
1855Bancroft-historic-mapMap
Be one of the first
Start Bancroft’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bancroft’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10By decade
Bancroft, decade by decade
1850s1 paper
National Register of Historic Places
Nothing in Bancroft is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Bancroft has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Des Moines River Bridge in Armstrong, 11.9 miles away.
Bancroft and the nearest listed places
Dashed line = Bancroft. Tap a dot.
Closest to Bancroft
How a place gets listed
1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Des Moines River Bridge’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Bancroft?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Bancroft’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old placeNational Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons
Then & now
When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.
Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (3). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.