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History · Rowan

Rowan’s history is
mostly unwritten

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

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Rowan is a city in Wright County, Iowa, United States. The population was 123 at the time of the 2020 census.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 158 to 123 (-22%). Half of its homes were built before 1938.

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

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

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

Rowan, 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
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Rowan is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Rowan has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Passenger Depot-Dows in Dows, 6.2 miles away.

Rowan and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Rowan. Tap a dot.
Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Passenger Depot-DowsFillmore BlockQuasdorf Blacksmith and Wagon ShopCornelia Lake BridgeWright County CourthouseBurlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railroad Passenger Station

Closest to Rowan

Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Passenger Depot-DowsDows · Building6.2miFillmore BlockDows · Building6.3miQuasdorf Blacksmith and Wagon ShopDows · Building6.3miCornelia Lake BridgeClarion · Structure8.1miWright County CourthouseClarion · Built 18929.2mi

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. Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Passenger Depot-Dows’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Rowan?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Rowan’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
📜 Galt📜 Alexander📜 Dows📜 Belmond
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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