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History · Washta

Washta’s post office opened in 1868, and 53% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1969 on and the census since 1900.

1868first post office

0on the National Register

53%homes built before 1940

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Quick answers

How Washta began

When was Washta founded?

1868

The Washta post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 431 in 19002020 census: 209158 years

Founding year: the first Washta post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Washta’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 Washta are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Washta’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 508 in 1920; 209 people lived here in 2020.

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The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Washta’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 so far

Washta, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Washta yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Washta is a city in Cherokee County, Iowa, United States. The population was 209 at the time of the 2020 census. It is called "The Coldest Spot in Iowa", recording a temperature of −47 °F (−44 °C) without wind chill on January 12, 1912. Washta's name dates back to 1868 when a local man named Whisman turned his farm into a trading post/mail stop for the freight train going from Correctionville, Iowa, to Cherokee, Iowa. He was asked to be the official postmaster for the area. When asked what the name of his town would be, he recalled an interesting encounter with two Native Americans the year before: While Whisman was out hunting, the two came upon him, removed his gun, looked at it, and hand…

Its first post office opened in 1868. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 248 to 209 (-16%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

People over time

Washta, census by census

Peaked at 508 in 1920; 209 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Washta in 1889

Passages that mention Washta, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Washta is the Indian word for our English “Good.” It is the second station south from ’Cherokee, on the line of the Onawa branch of the Illinois Central Railroad. Its location is more particularly described as being on sections 29 and 32 of township 90, range 41, west, in Willow civil township. It … — **Biographical history of Cherokoe County, Iowa**1889 · page 342Read the page →
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Washta is the Indian word for our English “Good.” It is the second station south from ’Cherokee, on the line of the Onawa branch of the Illinois Central Railroad. Its location is more particularly described as being on sections 29 and 32 of township 90, range 41, west, in Willow civil township. It was platted in October, 1887, and recorded the 28th day
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Mr. Whisman first came to the county the land was wild and uncultivated, and there were but three or four settlers in the vicinity of the flourishing village of Washta. The cultivated valley of the Little Sioux is described by him as a wilderness of grass, offering but small attractions as an abidi… — **Biographical history of Cherokoe County, Iowa**1889 · page 553Read the page →
Read the text
Mr. Whisman first came to the county the land was wild and uncultivated, and there were but three or four settlers in the vicinity of the flourishing village of Washta. The cultivated valley of the Little Sioux is described by him as a wilderness of grass, offering but small attractions as an abiding place. Sioux City, the metropolis of North-
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

Washta, 1868 to 1969

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

19th century
1868Post officeThe Washta post office opens
20th century
1920CensusPopulation peaks at 508
1969On 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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On the map

Washta on the map, 1969 to 1985

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

1969Washta sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Washta.

Famous people

Famous people close to Washta

Nobody well known was born in Washta itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

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Edward LindbergTrack and field competitor · b. 1886

Steve KingUS Representative for Iowa · b. 1949

Clyde KluckhohnAmerican anthropologist · b. 1905

Janet DaileyAmerican writer · b. 1944

Harold HughesAmerican politician · b. 1922

Jared HomanAmerican basketball player · b. 1983

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Washta’s post office has been open since 1868.

Gone or out of use

Washtalocale

1cemetery inside Washta

Sunset View

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

Questions about Washta’s history

What year was Washta founded?

The Washta post office opened in 1868, 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 →

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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 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.

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