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History · Dawson

Dawson’s post office opened in 1887, and 70% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1950 on and the census since 1910.

1887first post office
0on the National Register
70%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: rochelle hartman from La Crosse, WI · CC BY 2.0
Quick answers

How Dawson began

When was Dawson founded?

1887

The Dawson post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 275 in 19102020 census: 116139 years
Founding year: the first Dawson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Dawson’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 Dawson are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Dawson’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dawson’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dawson’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
The story so far

Dawson, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Dawson yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Dawson is a city in Dallas County, Iowa, United States. The population was 116 at the time of the 2020 census. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1887. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 131 to 116 (-11%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Dawson, decade by decade

Today3 recent
DawsonIowaPopPlot2021DawsonIowaPopPlotWater tower Dawson Iowa 8-11-20122012Water tower Dawson Iowa 8-11-2012IAMap-doton-Dawson2004IAMap-doton-Dawson
On the map

Dawson on the map, 1950 to 1982

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dawson. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Dawson on the 1950 USGS mapDawson on the 1982 USGS map1950Perry sheet · 1:62,500

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

People over time

Dawson, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 300

Between 116 and 300 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Dawson

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

See all →
M
Mamie EisenhowerFirst Lady of the United States from 1953 to 19… · b. 1896
George GallupAmerican statistician · b. 1901
Loren ShriverAmerican astronaut · b. 1944
James EllisonAmerican actor · b. 1910
Ray Lyman WilburAmerican physician and politician (1875–1949); … · b. 1875
Tom FaddenAmerican actor · b. 1895

Questions about Dawson’s history

What year was Dawson founded?

The Dawson post office opened in 1887, 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 (3), 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.