[5] The location first received a station on the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad in 1884 and has been known by the names of Spring Valley and Newtown.

With the expansion of the mines, a second adjacent village named Caspian was founded in 1908.

The location was poor and a new adjacent village called New Caspian was formed in 1909.

[5] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.43 square miles (3.70 km2), all land.

The racial makeup of the city was 95.0% White, 1.4% Native American, 0.7% Asian, and 2.9% from two or more races.

41.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 24.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

Culturally, 26.6% were of Italian, 13.8% German, 10.9% Polish, 9.2% Finnish, 8.4% Swedish and 6.4% French ancestry.

40.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 23.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.