The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Laurens was platted in 1881. It was named in honor of Henry and John Laurens, father and son, two French Huguenots who became residents of Charleston, South Carolina, and were loyal to the Colonies during the Revolution.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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Start Laurens’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Laurens’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10By decade
Laurens, decade by decade
Before
2000
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.
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National Register of Historic Places
1 historic place in Laurens
1 place in Laurens is on the National Register of Historic Places, the country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
#186
In Iowaby listings · most towns there have none
1place listed1 building
0National Historic LandmarksNone here yet
1historic building protectedcounting each building in a district
1974first listedLaurens Carnegie Free Library
Where they are
Tap a dot for a photo and link. Districts show at their center.
Buildings
When they were listed
The Register began in 1966.
60s
170s
80s
90s
00s
10s
20s
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places (05/22/2026) · styles from the National Archives catalog · photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place
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.