The story
Read it all →How Owasa came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Owasa.
Owasa was platted in 1883 or 1884. The name is derived from the Fox language, meaning "bear".
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Owasa
Owasa dates to 1883, and 56% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1979 on and the census since 1930.
1883founded
0on the National Register
56%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Owasa began
When was Owasa founded?
1883
Owasa dates its founding to 1883 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1930.
First census: 83 in 19302020 census: 34143 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1884.The full story ↓
What stands out about Owasa’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 Owasa’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Owasa’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.People over time
Owasa, census by census
Peaked at 117 in 1940; 34 people lived here in 2020.
10 censuses, 1930–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Owasa’s Wikipedia page.
Timeline
Owasa, 1883 to 1979
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1883FoundingOwasa is established
- 1884Post officeThe Owasa post office opens
- 20th century
- 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 117
- 1963Post officeThe Owasa post office closes
- 1979
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.
Add from your albumOn the map
Owasa on the map, 1979 to 1993
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Owasa. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1979Owasa sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Owasa.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Owasa
Nobody well known was born in Owasa itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
E
Edward J. RuppeltAmerican UFO researcher · b. 1923T
Tom LathamAmerican politician · b. 1948
Places that used to be
Lost post offices and places now gone
Owasa had its own post office from 1884 to 1963.
Owasa
18801950today
Gone or out of use
OwasalocaleOwasa Post Officepost office
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Owasa’s history
What year was Owasa founded?
In 1883, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Owasa’s post office opened in 1884, and the census of 1930 counted 83 people here.
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 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.