The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Runnells incorporated as a city on May 21, 1903. It was named for John S. Runnells, a former editorial writer for the Iowa State Register and private secretary for Governor Samuel Merrill.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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Start Runnells’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Runnells’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Runnells
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Runnells, 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
Nothing in Runnells is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Runnells has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Coal Creek Bridge in Swan, 6.1 miles away.
Runnells and the nearest listed places
Dashed line = Runnells. Tap a dot.
Closest to Runnells
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. Coal Creek Bridge’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Runnells?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Runnells’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.
Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.