Joseph A. and Cyrena Green laid out a town along Indian Creek, a small body of water that flows east to west, October 5, 1855, when the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad was completed through the area. The plat contained only one building, the Benedict House. The Greens named the prospective village Ononwa. Nearly a year later in September 1856, W. K. Trabue built a house and stocked it with the necessities of life that were not raised on the land and opened a general store.

In the late fall of 1856, Green and Stone began construction of the third house in the village. It was completed in May 1857 and Seth Curtis occupied it and ran a hotel in it. A. Harrison  built the first private home in April 1857 and several other homes were built the same summer. In the fall of 1865, he constructed another store and Lamp and Sells put in a stock of dry goods and groceries plus a few simple  drugs such as quinine, arnica, salts, and more. S. C. Harvey was the manager of this store. At about this same time S. H. Caldwell started the first blacksmith shop.

There were stockyards located northeast of the depot. W. K. Trabue was the first station agent and postmaster, the post office was located at the depot. S. C. Harvey was the second station agent and served until 1868, the same year the name of the growing town was changed to Lettsville in honor of Madison Letts, a pioneer in the community who owned about 4,000 acres of farmland in the surrounding area. Harvey bought the green and stone store in 1863 and continued to operate it until 1873.
A. L. Bayard, was the first physician, beginning his practice in 1857 in a building on Main Street. He later became postmaster and moved the post office into his building on Main Street. Dr. Thompson succeeded him and moved the office into his building on Cherry Street, which is today's main business street. The post office was again moved - back to the office of Dr. Bayard and from there to the drug store on the corner of Main and Chestnut streets.

M. W. Mountain became postmaster in 1877, he served until Oct. 23, 1882. Other postmasters were E. J. Hall, Oct. 23, 1882-Aug. 7, 1885; D. W. Payne, Aug. 7, 1885-July 1889; A. J. Weaver, July 1889-Oct. 1, 1893; N. G. Coder, Oct. 1, 1893-Oct. 1, 1897; L. Van Horn, 1897-1900; W.S. Berry, 1900-192; Sam Furnace, 1902-1910; Luella Letts, 1910-1911; L. Van Horn, 1911-1912; Lizzie McCormick, 1912-1926.

In 1905 the population was 420. The temperature reached 30 degrees below zero on Feb. 2. The five oldest men in Letts were Henry Funck, 87; William Ellis, 83; Samuel Gipple, 82; H.S. Griffin, 79, and P.M. Reisch, 79.  Veterans living in Letts included H.S. Griffin a veteran of the Mexican War; Davis Shellabarger, Ephraim Shellabarger, Tobias Brown, Alex Hildebaugh, John Weaver, Thomas Meeker, Dr. Thompson and O.H.P. Lynne, who all participated in the Civil War.

W.S. Snyder's general store, first opened in1904, was the largest  store in town in 1905. He sold a variety of items including candy, shoes and cream of  wheat. During the night of Aug. 24, 1905, fire destroyed eight store buildings on the west side of Cherry Street north of Main Street. Construction began on the Masonic Hall in 1905.

In the spring of 1909  William Jordan bought the Jordan Hotel and Restaurant.

The town boasted two button factories and an opera house. There was a generating plant that housed a hardware store on the first  floor and a theater on the second floor. The generator was in the basement. The building  burned in 1915.  

On July 5, 1928, on a vote of 56-16 the name of  the town was changed to Letts.

On the evening of July 3, 1939, Indian Creek overflowed its banks and entered at least three homes. Many chickens and small livestock were drowned and portions of the Rock Island Railroad were washed out.

In nearby Cedar Twp., Muscatine County, was a stage coach road called the Iowa City and Blackhawk Road that went through the woods near the Strawberry Hill School. The stage carried mail and passengers and made regular stops at the a two-story building owned by Mrs. Moorhead, called The Inn or Stage Tavern. She served meals and provided lodging and maintained a stage coach stable where the horses were cared for. Her son, Tobe Brown, often provided music in the Letts area with his yellow fiddle.