Dickinson County, Iowa
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 12 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1973. Most listings are in or near Milford, Spirit Lake, Arnolds Park.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for Iowa is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Dickinson titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP9 of 12 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
12 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Antlers Hotel | Spirit Lake | 2007 |
| Clark, Gerome, House | Milford | 1977 |
| Gull Point State Park, Area A | Milford | 1990 |
| Gull Point State Park, Area B | Milford | 1990 |
| Iowa Lakeside Laboratory Historic District | Milford | 1991 |
| Mini-Wakan State Park Historic District | Spirit Lake | 2010 |
| Okoboji Bridge | Milford | 1998 |
| Pikes Point State Park Shelter and Steps | Spirit Lake | 1990 |
| Pillsbury Point State Park | Arnolds Park | 1993 |
| Spirit Lake Massacre Log Cabin | Arnolds Park | 1973 |
| Spirit Lake Public Library | Spirit Lake | 1980 |
| Trappers Bay State Park Picnic Shelter | Lake Park | 1990 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBDickinson was formed in 1851 (1851-01-15) from unknown / original county.
DICKINSON created from Non-County Area 9 attached to POLK.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusDickinson County population from 1860 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1860 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 180 | 1,901 | 7,995 | 10,241 | 12,185 | 12,756 | 12,574 | 15,629 | 16,424 | 17,703 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS15 cemeteries and 0 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 15 of 15 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Calvary Cemetery |
| Excelsior Township Cemetery |
| Fairview Cemetery |
| Lakeview Cemetery |
| Little Sioux Lutheran Cemetery |
| Milford Cemetery |
| Okoboji Cemetery |
| Richland Cemetery (historical) |
| Rose Hill Cemetery |
| Saint Margaret Cemetery |
| Silver Lake Cemetery |
| Spirit Lake Memorial Gardens |
| Superior Township Cemetery |
| Union State Line Cemetery |
| Westport Cemetery |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Historical markers
HMdb linkMarker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.
Search HMdb for Dickinson County, Iowa
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