TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
CromwellGood afternoon
History · Cromwell

Cromwell’s history is
mostly unwritten

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

0old images & papers
3recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Cromwell is a city in Union County, Iowa, United States. The population was 105 at the 2020 census.

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 107 people in 2010, 105 in 2020. Half of its homes were built before 1950.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Cromwell 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 Cromwell’s collection

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people from CromwellWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Cromwell.Meet them →
By decade

Cromwell, 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
Today3 photos
CromwellIowaPopPlotCommonsCromwellIowaPopPlot2021Cromwell, IACommonsCromwell, IA2019IAMap-doton-CromwellCommonsIAMap-doton-Cromwell2004
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Cromwell is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Cromwell has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is U. S. Post Office in Creston, 5.1 miles away.

Cromwell and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Cromwell. Tap a dot.
U. S. Post OfficeChicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad-Creston StationIowana HotelJefferson Elementary SchoolSnider BridgeLenox Hotel

Closest to Cromwell

U. S. Post OfficeCreston · Building5.1miChicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad-Creston StationCreston · Building5.3miIowana HotelCreston · Building5.3miJefferson Elementary SchoolCreston · Building5.7miSnider BridgePrescott · Structure8.5mi

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. U. S. Post Office’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Cromwell?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Cromwell’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
📜 Creston📜 Prescott📜 Orient📜 Lenox

From Wikimedia Commons (3). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

The door’s open

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Cromwell, IAView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Cromwell is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

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