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–Not graded
History · Superior

Superior dates to 1869, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1918 on and the census since 1950.

1869founded
0on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Superior began

When was Superior founded?

1869

Superior dates its founding to 1869 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1950.

First census: 626 in 19502020 census: 830157 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1871.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.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Superior are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,242 in 1960; 830 people lived here in 2020.
★ 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.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Superior, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001960198020002020Peak: 1,242

Peaked at 1,242 in 1960; 830 people lived here in 2020.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

The story

How Superior came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Superior.

Read it all →

Superior was named after its founders' hometown of Superior, Wisconsin, in 1869. The post office was established in 1871 after Mineral County became the site of one of the largest gold strikes that helped settle the West.

In the 1860s and '70s, several thousand miners converged on Cedar Creek. Mining has remained central to the economy, along with the development of logging and United States Forest Service activities.

In 1908, the Superior Hotel received the first Bibles to be placed in hotel rooms by The Gideons. This is noted on a historic plaque on Mullan Road.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Superior, 1869 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869
    FoundingSuperior is established
  3. 1871Post officeThe Superior post office opens
  4. 1891Post officeThe Iron Mountain post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1939Born hereJohn Melvin Yates is born here
  7. 1943Born herePokey Allen is born here
  8. 1949Post officeThe Iron Mountain post office closes
  9. 1960On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 1,242
By decade

Superior, decade by decade

Today1 recent
MTMap-doton-Superior2005MTMap-doton-Superior
On the map

Superior on the map, 1960 to 1999

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

Superior on the 1960 USGS mapSuperior on the 1985 USGS mapSuperior on the 1999 USGS map1960Superior 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 Superior.

Every building

Superior, building by building, 1918

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Superior fire insurance map, 1918, sheet 11918Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Superior

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
P
Pokey AllenGridiron football player and coach · b. 1943
John Melvin YatesUS Ambassador to Cape Verde, 1983-6 · b. 1939
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Superior’s post office has been open since 1871. Another post office, Iron Mountain, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Superior
1871–today
Iron Mountain
1891–1949
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Riverview Trailer Park
Gone or out of use
Iron Mountain Post Officepost officeIron Mountain SchoolschoolMarlinlocale
1cemetery inside Superior
Superior

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

RiverbendIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Superior’s history

What year was Superior founded?

In 1869, according to Wikidata. Superior’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1950 counted 626 people here.

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 Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.