The area which would later formally become Lost Nation was known by that name as early as 1855, though the origin of the name is unknown. Lost Nation was platted in 1872 and became an incorporated community in July 1903. A train station was established along the Sabula, Ackley and Dakota railroad in 1871. In 1911, the town was one of the few small towns in the eastern part of the state to be powered by electricity.
Passages that mention Lost Nation, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Wolfe's history of Clinton County, Iowa1911 · page 274Read the page →
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In earlier days the postoffice of the township was at a place four miles or so north of the present town of Lost Nation, a village known as Smithstown or Burgess postoffice. With the coming of the railroad and the establishment of the station at Lost Nation, the village of Smithstown gradually dwindled away.
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Wolfe's history of Clinton County, Iowa1911 · page 275Read the page →
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Lost Nation was platted July ii, 1872. on section 26, townslii]) 83, range I, by Jacob E. Long and wife. The town has grown up about the station, has been a stock and grain shipping center for the township, and has grown to be a thriving town of about six hundred people.
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The history of Clinton County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns &c., biographical sketches of citizens1879 · page 647Read the page →
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Lost Nation is fast growing to be an important station on the S., A. & D. Railroad. It has a population of about three hundred, and, being surrounded by a class of able farmers, does a large business in handling grain, cattle, hogs, butter, etc.
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Clinton county history, written for the children of Clinton County1930Read the page →
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Lost Nation itself grew right alongside a railroad, through the Long farm. The first business street was named Long and the comfortable farm home, with its secluding picket fence, is at the very edge of town. Harry Gish lives there now.
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Lost Nation, 1871 to 1946
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.
![Lost Nation was platted July ii, 1872. on section 26, townslii]) 83, range I, by Jacob E. Long and wife. The town has grown up about the station, has been a stock and grain shipping center for the township, and has grown to be a thriving town of about six hundred people.](https://images.townratings.com/story/5479/bk-61699278dfc5a0fa-l.jpg)
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