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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Welcome to Ottosen ...

The city of Ottosen is located in Humboldt County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Ottosen, you might consider that their post office opened in 1895.

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Ottosen has a population of 37 people<2> (see below for details).

Ottosen is 1,140 feet [347 m] above sea level.<3>.

Time Zone: Ottosen lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Code for Ottosen: 515

The ZIP code for Ottosen: 50570<4>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Ottosen had an population of 37 people. This is a decrease of 32.73% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 39.34% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Ottosen had a population of 55 people. This makes Ottosen the county's 10th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 55 people, the population of Ottosen decreased 9.84% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 61 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Ottosen.

Communities near Ottosen ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Ottosen.

  • Algona
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Humboldt
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Pocahontas
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Dakota City
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • West Bend
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Rolfe
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Rolfe is located in Pocahontas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolfe
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 530 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rolfe <5>
  • Whittemore
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Whittemore is located in Kossuth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittemore
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 469 people
  • Gilmore City
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Livermore
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Livermore is located in Humboldt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livermore
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 361 people
  • Bode
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Bode is located in Humboldt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bode
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 286 people

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Ottosen. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Ottosen.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Ottosen. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ottosen.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Ottosen. See our Newspapers Page for Ottosen.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Ottosen ...

Looking for more information about Ottosen? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Ottosen, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Ottosen.

Adding Ottosen to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Ottosen in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found (so far) for Ottosen was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>

From that list, the Ottosen post office opened in 1895.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Ottosen.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Iowa's counties, including Humboldt, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Ottosen.
<3>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Ottosen - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<4>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Ottosen). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Ottosen or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<5>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<6>A copy of the Blevins & Helbock Post Office list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/