"There is only one Renwick and it’s in Iowa."

The coming of the Toledo branch of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad in 1880 and 1881 made Renwick an ideal site for a town.

Renwick was surveyed in November 1881.  There was already regular railway service then, as the first train to go north was an excursion on July 4, 1881.  The town plat was filed by the Western Lot Company on January 24, 1882.  The land was sold by lots.

No name had been selected for the small village at the water stop when the first train arrived.  One of the train crew was a Mr. Renwick, originally from Pennsylvania.  He suggested the town be named for him and it was.

About 1882, Funk & Smith sent advertisements of Renwick.  The following was in a letter form on the back of a postal card.

“Renwick, Humboldt Co. Iowa”

This town is situated on the Toledo branch of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad, 134 miles northwest of Cedar Rapids, and 82 miles south of the state line, about 1 miles west of the Boone River, and just west of the Wright County line.  The town is located on a high elevation, and affords  a very pleasing view of the surrounding country for many miles in all directions.  It commands a larger extent of territory than almost and point on this line of railroad from Cedar Rapids to the state line.  It is one of the choicest agricultural sections in the state of Iowa.  The country is well settled by an enterprising thrifty class of people, many of whom have already made ample fortunes by raising grain and livestock, and by products of the dairy, to which this country is especially adapted.  Choice selections of the most fertile lands can yet be purchased in the vicinity, $7.00 to $10.00 per acre.  The price for breaking prairie is $2.50 per acre and flax can be sown the same season, and usually yield from 6 to 10 bushels.  The climate is a healthy as can be found in the United States.  It is destined to be a good point for almost all kinds of business, as it takes a long time for the town to get advance of the demands of the country.  To persons seeking homes or new locations for business, this place offers first class inducements.