The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Merrill was named in 1872 for the seventh governor of Iowa, Samuel Merrill. It and became an incorporated city on April 24, 1894.
In 2007, the city hired Drake University public relations seniors to research and develop strategies to attract new residents.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Be one of the first
Start Merrill’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Merrill’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10By decade
Merrill, 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.
📷 Add from your albumNational Register of Historic Places
Nothing in Merrill is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Merrill has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Tonsfeldt Round Barn in Le Mars, 6.2 miles away.
Merrill and the nearest listed places
Dashed line = Merrill. Tap a dot.
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. Tonsfeldt Round Barn’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Merrill?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Merrill’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.