Winterset’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold only 2 old photos of Winterset. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Winterset was platted during a cool spell in the summer of 1849. The name was originally to be "Summerset", but the unseasonable coldness made the commissioners reverse this to "Winterset".
On March 5, 2022, a low-end EF4 tornado struck the areas just outside the city, killing six people.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowStart Winterset’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Winterset’s history is told.
2 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewWinterset, IA, 1907: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Winterset
See all 11 →
Winterset, decade by decade
1990s
24 historic places in Winterset
Winterset has 24 listings on the National Register, and they protect 107 historic buildings, because Winterset Courthouse Square Commercial Historic District alone counts 74.
Where they are
When they were listed
Listed 1976Madison County Courthouse
Listed 1976Cutler-Donahue Covered Bridge
Listed 1976C. D. Bevington House and Stone Barn
Listed 1979Guiberson House
Listed 1985Henry C. Wallace House
Listed 1987Bevington, C. D. and Eliza Heath, Privy
Listed 1987Emily Hornback House
Listed 1987Munger and Company White Store
Listed 1991W. J. and Nettie J. Cornell House
Listed 1993Miller Richard and Mary Fisher Tidrick House
Listed 1993William R. and Martha Foster Shriver House
Listed 2015Winterset Courthouse Square Commercial Historic DistrictListed 1987George and Susan Guiberson Armstrong HouseListed 1987Henry and Elizabeth Adkinson Evans HouseListed 1987J. G. and Elizabeth S. Vawter HouseListed 1987John M. Duncan HouseListed 1987Sprague, Brown, and Knowlton StoreListed 1987William Anzi Nichols HouseListed 1993Duff BarnListed 2017Miles and Elizabeth Smith Kellogg HouseListed 2020Winterset High SchoolListed 2020Lewis, Judge W.H. and Emma, Historic DistrictListed 2021Winterset City Park Historic DistrictListed 2025Winterset Municipal Power PlantThen & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Winterset, IA (1907) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (5), the Library of Congress (1) and the National Register (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.