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History · Luther

Luther’s post office opened in 1883, and 64% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1911 on and the census since 1910.

1883first post office
0on the National Register
64%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Luther began

When was Luther founded?

1883

The Luther post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 130 in 19102020 census: 152143 years
Founding year: the first Luther post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Luther’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 Luther are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Luther’s homes were built before 1938.On the map since 19113 editions of the USGS map, 1911 to 1976. Watch Luther change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Luther’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Luther’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

How Luther came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Luther.

Read it all →

A post office has been in operation at Luther since 1883. Luther was laid out as a town in 1893. The community was named after Clark Luther, a local merchant.

On September 11, 2014, the Luther City Council accepted a petition from 58 residents asking that the city be discontinued. There are several steps in the discontinuation process, including approval or disapproval of the petition by the City Development Board. If the Board approves, a public referendum on discontinuation could be held in 2015. The discontinuance failed and the city continues to exist today. Since 2015 several new businesses have sprung up as well as a major expansion by the local co-op.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

On the map

Luther on the map, 1911 to 1976

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

Luther on the 1911 USGS mapLuther on the 1965 USGS mapLuther on the 1976 USGS map1911Madrid 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 Luther.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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People over time

Luther, census by census

0100200192019401960198020002020Peak: 189

Between 122 and 189 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Luther

Nobody well known was born in Luther 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
L
Laurel ClarkNASA astronaut, medical doctor, United States N… · b. 1961
Peter SchickeleAmerican composer, musical educator, and parodi… · b. 1935
Joe BurrowAmerican football player · b. 1996
Sara ParetskyAmerican author of detective fiction · b. 1947
Jane EspensonAmerican television writer and producer · b. 1964
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Luther’s post office has been open since 1883.

Gone or out of use
LutherlocaleLuther Post Officepost office

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

Questions about Luther’s history

What year was Luther founded?

The Luther post office opened in 1883, 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 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.