The story
Read it all →How Superior came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Superior.
Superior began its historic existence in 1882 when the railroad was built through the neighborhood.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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History · Superior
Superior’s post office opened in 1883, and 48% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1972 on and the census since 1900.
1883first post office
0on the National Register
48%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Superior began
When was Superior founded?
1883
The Superior post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 187 in 19002020 census: 132143 years
Founding year: the first Superior post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Superior’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 Superior’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Superior’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
Superior, census by census
Peaked at 240 in 1950; 132 people lived here in 2020.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Superior’s Wikipedia page.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Superior, 1902–1917
Passages that mention Superior, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Emmet County and Dickinson County, Iowa1917Read the page →
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On August 19, 1913, an election was held which resulted in the consolidation of the town of Superior with eight sections of Superior Township and sixteen sections of Richland Township. On January 17, 1914, the consolidated independent district of Superior voted bonds to the sum of $30,000 for a site and new building.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A history of Dickinson County, Iowa, together with an account of the Spirit Lake massacre, and the Indian troubles on the northwestern frontier ..1902 · page 556Read the page →
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stitiite. This institution sprang up suddenly and became immensely popular at once, and bids fair to remain one of the permanent institutions of the county. The first one was held at Superior, February 21 and 22, 1895. The first move for a Farmers' Institute in this county seems to have originated with the citizens of Superior and others in the eastern portion of the county, and to them belongs the credit of making the first start in that direction. An association was formed, of which
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History of Emmet County and Dickinson County, Iowa1917 · page 354Read the page →
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Superior was incorporated in February, 1896. The first meeting of the council was held on March 6th of that year. The first officers were : L. Broderick, mayor; John Jacobs, assessor; G. M. West, recorder; L. F.
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.
Timeline
Superior, 1883 to 1972
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1883Post officeThe Superior post office opens
- 20th century
- 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 240
- 1972
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.
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Superior on the map, 1972 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Superior. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1972Superior 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 Superior.
Questions about Superior’s history
What year was Superior founded?
The Superior 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.
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), 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.