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History · Lakota

Lakota dates to 1892, and 47% of its homes were built before 1940

1892founded
0on the National Register
47%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Quick answers

How Lakota began

When was Lakota founded?

1892

Lakota dates its founding to 1892 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1892.

2020 census: 267134 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1892.The full story ↓

What stands out about Lakota’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 Lakota are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Lakota’s homes were built before 1943.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lakota’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Lakota came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lakota.

Read it all →

The present town of Lakota was originally named Germania. The original town site of Germania was surveyed and filed for record by the Northern Iowa Land and Town Lot Company, August 26, 1892. The town received its name from the German heritage of many of the early settlers in the area. In 1918, the hysteria of World War I was sweeping the country. Residents couldn't change their origin to protect themselves from the popular hatred of the time, but they could take the stigma of all things German from the town by wiping its name off the map, which they did. An election was held on October 1, 1918, to vote to change the name of Germania to Lakota. A canvas of the votes showed there were 48 yes and 32 no votes cast. Mayor J. Gus Thaves filed the certificate changing the name to Lakota at the Kossuth County Courthouse on October 16, 1918. However the name was not officially changed by the po…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lakota, 1892 to 1927

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1892
    FoundingLakota is established
  3. 1892Post officeThe Germania post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1919Post officeThe Germania post office closes
  6. 1919Post officeThe Lakota post office opens
  7. 1927Born hereDon I. Wortman is born here
By decade

Lakota, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Lakota, Iowa2013Lakota, IowaLakota water tower2013Lakota water towerLakota Veterans Memorial2013Lakota Veterans MemorialGreen Plains Renewable Energy2013Green Plains Renewable EnergyEagle Center, formerly Lakota High School2013Eagle Center, formerly Lakota High SchoolIAMap-doton-Lakota2004IAMap-doton-Lakota
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Lakota’s post office has been open since 1919. Another post office, Germania, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Germania
1892–1919
Lakota
1919–today
18901960today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Lakota’s history

What year was Lakota founded?

In 1892, according to Wikidata. Lakota’s post office opened in 1892.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.