The story so far
from Wikipedia & the U.S. CensusWadena is a city in Fayette County, Iowa, United States. The population was 209 at the time of the 2020 census.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 262 to 209 (-20%). Half of its homes were built before 1938.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Wadena 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.
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Start Wadena’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wadena’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people close to Wadena
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By decade
Wadena, 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
1 historic place in Wadena
1 place in Wadena is on the National Register of Historic Places, the country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
#186
In Iowaby listings · most towns there have none
1place listed1 building
0National Historic LandmarksNone here yet
1historic building protectedcounting each building in a district
1977first listedHardware Building
Where they are
Tap a dot for a photo and link. Districts show at their center.
Buildings
When they were listed
The Register began in 1966.
60s
170s
80s
90s
00s
10s
20s
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places (05/22/2026) · styles from the National Archives catalog · photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place
Then & now
When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.