Kelley, IA

Kelley is a Story County city that began when the Des Moines to Minneapolis railroad crossed Joseph Kelley's farm in 1875. The plat was drawn by a railroad surveyor, and the later Chicago and North Western line left the town with a tidy grid tied to the tracks. Early Kelley had three stores, two restaurants, a bank, and a community fair, giving the small settlement more commercial life than its current size might suggest.

A post office opened in 1875 and remained part of the town's daily routine until it closed in 2013. Kelley built a consolidated school in 1917, then joined Huxley, Slater, and Cambridge in 1958 to form Ballard Community School. The school district still ties Kelley to those neighboring communities, while Ames is only about five miles away and supplies the larger shopping and employment orbit. Kelley is a compact central Iowa town with a railroad plat, a long postal chapter, and a local history shaped by the moment when better roads made nearby Ames easier to reach.