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History · Netawaka

Netawaka dates to 1866, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1888 on and the census since 1890.

1866founded
0on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Brian Hall · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Netawaka began

When was Netawaka founded?

1866

Netawaka dates its founding to 1866 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 267 in 18902020 census: 139160 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1868.The full story ↓

What stands out about Netawaka’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 Netawaka are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18885 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1990. Watch Netawaka change.Boom and bustPeaked at 330 in 1900; 139 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Netawaka’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Netawaka’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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On the map

Netawaka on the map, 1888 to 1990

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

Netawaka on the 1888 USGS mapNetawaka on the 1894 USGS mapNetawaka on the 1961 USGS mapNetawaka on the 1985 USGS mapNetawaka on the 1990 USGS map1888Hiawatha sheet · 1:125,000

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

People over time

Netawaka, census by census

01002003001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 330

Peaked at 330 in 1900; 139 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story

How Netawaka came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Netawaka.

Read it all →

Netawaka was founded in 1866. Netawaka is a Potawatomi name meaning "grand view".

The first post office in Netawaka was established in January 1868.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Netawaka, 1866 to 1900

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1866
    FoundingNetawaka is established
  3. 1868Post officeThe Netawaka post office opens
  4. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 330
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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Questions about Netawaka’s history

What year was Netawaka founded?

In 1866, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Netawaka’s post office opened in 1868, and the census of 1890 counted 267 people here.

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 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.