Nichols is a city in Muscatine County, Iowa, United States.

The original name of the site of the current town was Railroad Addition.

Samuel Nichols was a heavy investor in the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railroad Company as well as owner of large landholdings.

[3] Nichols was established in the early 1870s in an area of Section 15 of Pike Township known locally as Elephant Swamp.

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.

Benjamin Nichols established the first post office in 1870 and served as the first postmaster.

The Foley and Brugman Brothers operated two large grain elevators which held 15,000 bushels each.

[4][5] On September 18, 2020, Nichols' central business district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Ijem Avenue Commercial Historic District.

[6] Nichols is located at 41°28′45″N 91°18′30″W / 41.47917°N 91.30833°W / 41.47917; -91.30833 (41.479113, -91.308291) [7] in section 15 of Pike Township, situated in the western edge of Iowa's Muscatine County.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.23 square miles (0.60 km2), all land.

There were 150 housing units at an average density of 652.2 per square mile (251.8/km2).

22.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

19.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.