The story
Read it all →How Dumont came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Dumont.
A post office in Dumont has been in operation since 1882. The city was named for John M. Dumont, a miner in Colorado.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Dumont
Dumont’s post office opened in 1882, and 45% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1915 on and the census since 1900.
1882first post office
0on the National Register
45%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Dumont began
When was Dumont founded?
1882
The Dumont post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 433 in 19002020 census: 634144 years
Founding year: the first Dumont post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Dumont’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Dumont’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dumont’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.From the old history books
What they wrote about Dumont in 1914
Passages that mention Dumont, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Butler County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement1914 · page 366Read the page →
Read the text
of said Town; therefore Be it enacted by the (reneral Assembly of the State of Iowa : Section 1. — Valid and binding. — That the incorporation of the Town of Dumont, Butler Coimty, Iowa; the election of its officers, and all official acts done, and Ordinances passed by the coTuicil of said Town up to Jamiary 1st, 1898, are hereby legalized, and are hei'eby declared to be valid and binding, the same as though the law had in all respects been strictly complied with in
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Butler County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement1914 · page 363Read the page →
Read the text
postmaster imtil some time in 1877, when he resigned in favor of James Harlan. There were other aspirants for the office, however, and A. L. Bickford was appointed postmaster and removed the postoffice to the town of Dumont, about four miles to the southeast of Union Ridge. The population of the township, as shown by the records of the census, is as follows: 1860, 246; 1863, 272; 1865, 341; 1867, 349; 1869, 385; 1870, 512; 1873, 479; 1875, 528; 1880, 730; 1890,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Dumont, decade by decade
2021
2021
2016
2016
2004On the map
Dumont on the map in 1984
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dumont.
1984Waverly sheet · 1:100,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Dumont.
Every building
Dumont, building by building, 1915
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.
1915Sheet 1 of 1Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
People over time
Dumont, census by census
Between 433 and 815 people in every census since 1900.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Dumont’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Dumont
Nobody well known was born in Dumont itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
T
Tom LathamAmerican politician · b. 1948
Questions about Dumont’s history
What year was Dumont founded?
The Dumont post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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), the Library of Congress (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.