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History · Thayer

Thayer’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Thayer. 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

Thayer is a city in Union County, Iowa, United States. The population was 51 at the time of the 2020 census.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 59 to 51 (-14%). Half of its homes were built before 1938.

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

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

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

Famous people from Thayer

See all 1 →
DNDan M. NeeSports
By decade

Thayer, 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
ThayerIowaPostOfficeCommonsThayerIowaPostOffice2025ThayerIowaAerialViewCommonsThayerIowaAerialView2025IAMap-doton-ThayerCommonsIAMap-doton-Thayer2004
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Thayer is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Thayer has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Grand River Bridge in Thayer, 4.6 miles away.

Thayer and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Thayer. Tap a dot.
Grand River BridgeOdd Fellows BlockMorgan BridgeJ. V. Banta HouseCraven, J. D., Women's Relief Corps HallNicholas Schoenenberger House and Barn

Closest to Thayer

Grand River BridgeThayer · Structure4.6miOdd Fellows BlockAfton · Building7.7miMorgan BridgeEast Peru · Structure11.6miJ. V. Banta HouseOsceola · Built 190213.1miCraven, J. D., Women's Relief Corps HallMacksburg · Building13.2mi

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. Grand River Bridge’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Thayer?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Thayer’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
📜 Murray📜 Lorimor📜 Afton📜 Arispe

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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