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History · Coulter

Coulter’s post office opened in 1902, and 48% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1984 on and the census since 1910.

1902first post office
0on the National Register
48%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: John Edwards · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Coulter began

When was Coulter founded?

1902

The Coulter post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 198 in 19102020 census: 219124 years
Founding year: the first Coulter post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Coulter’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Coulter are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 315 in 1960; 219 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Coulter’s homes were built before 1944.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Coulter’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Coulter, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 315

Peaked at 315 in 1960; 219 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Coulter’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Coulter came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Coulter.

Read it all →

Coulter got its start in the 1880s, following construction of the Chicago & Great Western Railway through that territory.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Coulter, 1902 to 1984

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1902Post officeThe Coulter post office opens
  3. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 315
  4. 1984On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Coulter, decade by decade

Today10 recent
CoulterIowaPopPlot2021CoulterIowaPopPlotCoulter, Iowa2005Coulter, IowaCoulter, Iowa2005Coulter, IowaCoulter, Iowa2005Coulter, IowaCoulter, Iowa2005Coulter, IowaCoulter, Iowa2005Coulter, IowaCoulter, Iowa2005Coulter, IowaCoulter, Iowa2005Coulter, IowaCoulter, Iowa2005Coulter, IowaIAMap-doton-Coulter2004IAMap-doton-Coulter
On the map

Coulter on the map in 1984

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Coulter.

Coulter on the 1984 USGS map1984Iowa Falls sheet · 1:100,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Coulter.

Famous people

Famous people close to Coulter

Nobody well known was born in Coulter itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
William D. LeahyUnited States admiral, ambassador to France, Ch… · b. 1875
T
Tom LathamAmerican politician · b. 1948
Gordon JonesAmerican actor · b. 1911
Jack BaileyAmerican actor and daytime game show · b. 1907
Raef LaFrentzAmerican basketball player · b. 1976
G
George LambertAmerican modern pentathlete, born 1928 · b. 1928

Questions about Coulter’s history

What year was Coulter founded?

The Coulter post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (10), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.