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History · Otho

Otho’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Otho. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Otho is a city in Webster County, Iowa, United States. The population was 429 at the time of the 2020 census.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 542 to 429 (-21%). Half of its homes were built before 1963.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Otho yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Otho’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Otho’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people from OthoWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Otho.Meet them →
By decade

Otho, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Otho is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Otho has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Dolliver Memorial State Park, Entrance Area (Area A) in Coalville, 3.7 miles away.

Otho and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Otho. Tap a dot.
Dolliver Memorial State Park, Entrance Area (Area A)Dolliver Memorial State Park, Picnic, Hiking & Maintenance Area (Area B)Oleson Park Music PavilionFort Dodge Junior High SchoolVincent HouseSacred Heart Catholic Church

Closest to Otho

Dolliver Memorial State Park, Entrance Area (Area A)Coalville · Building3.7miDolliver Memorial State Park, Picnic, Hiking & Maintenance Area (Area B)Lehigh · District4.2miOleson Park Music PavilionFort Dodge · Structure4.8miFort Dodge Junior High SchoolFort Dodge · Building5.6miVincent HouseFort Dodge · Built 18715.8mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Dolliver Memorial State Park, Entrance Area (Area A)’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Otho?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Otho’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Fort Dodge📜 Lehigh📜 Moorland📜 Duncombe
We left the porch light on

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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