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History · Leighton

Leighton’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Leighton. 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

Leighton is a city in Mahaska County, Iowa, United States. The population was 158 in the 2020 United States census, an increase from 153 in the 2000 United States census.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 162 to 158 (-2%). Half of its homes were built before 1951.

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

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

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

Famous people from Leighton

See all 1 →
GRGerrit Van RoekelPolitics & Law
By decade

Leighton, 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
LeightonIowaWelcomSignCommonsLeightonIowaWelcomSign2025LeightonIowaEbenezerChurchCommonsLeightonIowaEbenezerChurch2025IAMap-doton-LeightonCommonsIAMap-doton-Leighton2004
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Leighton is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Leighton has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Vander Wilt Farmstead Historic District in Leighton, 2.5 miles away.

Leighton and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Leighton. Tap a dot.
Vander Wilt Farmstead Historic DistrictJohn K. Voorhees HouseBellefountain BridgeGary J. and Matilda Vermeer FarmsteadHarvey Railroad BridgeStock Judging Pavilion

Closest to Leighton

Vander Wilt Farmstead Historic DistrictLeighton · Late 19th and 20th Century American Movements2.5miJohn K. Voorhees HouseLeighton · Italianate · Built 18713.8miBellefountain BridgeHarvey · Structure4.1miGary J. and Matilda Vermeer FarmsteadPella · District6.5miHarvey Railroad BridgeHarvey · Structure6.6mi

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. Vander Wilt Farmstead Historic District’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Leighton?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Leighton’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
📜 Beacon📜 Harvey📜 Pella📜 Oskaloosa

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

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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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