Nichols

History

Nichols was established in the early 1870s in an area of Section 15 of Pike Township known locally as Elephant Swamp. The community was intended as a rail town for the shipment of agriculture products and furs to distant markets, and had been constructed on land donated to the rail company by Samuel and Benjamin Nichols with the intention of establishing a rail depot. The lots for the future community were surveyed by county surveyor George Bumgardner in June 1871. Two rail lines would eventually run through the town – the Muscatine & Western Railroad and the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railroad – which were both branches of the Rock Island system. The first rail line and rail depot was constructed in the early 1870s. Dr. S. H. Smith constructed the first building on the future site of Nichols in 1871, which Mr Smith used as both a drug store and as a home. Construction on the Muscatine & Western Railroad reached the site in 1873, and the rail company laid out an addition to the town, calling it Railroad Addition. At first many of the buildings and homes in the community were log cabins, which were then replaced by more permanent brick buildings. Benjamin Nichols established the first post office in 1870 and served as the first postmaster. The first school was built in 1872. In the winter of 1873-1874 a Christian church was organized with services being held in schoolhouses until the construction of the church in 1874, with services being conducted by Rev. John Powell. The German Evangelical Protestant Church was organized in 1874 by Rev. K. F. Obermann. The Catholic church – Church of St. Mary - was built in 1874 with Father Nicholas Dugan serving as its first pastor. A Methodist church was organized in 1875 by J. A. Bolton. The town soon grew with…

Geography

Nichols is located in section 15 of Pike Township, situated in the western edge of Iowa's Muscatine County. The area is a mix of prairie and rich bottom land. Jordan Creek flows just southeast of the community and flows into Wapsinonoc Creek, a tributary of the Cedar River. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• West Liberty Middle School
  Middle · West Liberty · 399 students · 14.8:1 ratio
• West Liberty High School
  High · West Liberty · 364 students · 14.6:1 ratio
• West Liberty Elementary School
  Elementary · West Liberty · 361 students · 13.9:1 ratio
• Early Childhood Center
  Elementary · West Liberty · 160 students · 14.5:1 ratio