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History · Boyden

Boyden’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Boyden. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

1889established
0old images & papers
2recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Boyden is a city in Sioux County, Iowa, United States. The population was 701 at the 2020 census.

Boyden was established in 1889. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 707 people in 2010, 701 in 2020. Half of its homes were built before 1965.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Boyden yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Boyden’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Boyden’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people close to Boyden

See all 25 →
Robert A. DahlRobert A. DahlInwood · 23 miNick CollisonNick CollisonOrange City · 13 miGKGeorge KellySheldon · 8 miRobert H. SchullerRobert H. SchullerAlton · 14 miJim NicholsonJim NicholsonStruble · 23 miTBTerry BrandsSheldon · 8 mi
By decade

Boyden, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
Today2 photos
BoydenIowaPopPlotCommonsBoydenIowaPopPlot2021IAMap-doton-BoydenCommonsIAMap-doton-Boyden2004
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Boyden is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Boyden has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Carnegie Library in Sheldon, 7.5 miles away.

Boyden and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Boyden. Tap a dot.
Carnegie LibraryBroad View Ranch Historic DistrictReynolds, Charles B., Round BarnSioux County CourthouseZwemer Hall, Northwestern CollegeDuncan-Duitsman Farm Historic District

Closest to Boyden

Carnegie LibrarySheldon · Built 19087.5miBroad View Ranch Historic DistrictMatlock · District7.9miReynolds, Charles B., Round BarnDoon · Building11miSioux County CourthouseOrange City · Building13.1miZwemer Hall, Northwestern CollegeOrange City · Building13.4mi

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. Carnegie Library’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Boyden?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Boyden’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National 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’ history
📜 Matlock📜 Hull📜 Sheldon📜 Hospers

From Wikimedia Commons (2). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

We left the porch light on

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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