Mead was originally platted as “Saunders” in 1877 when rail service arrived, and was renamed in 1880, likely for a Union Pacific railroad official. It was built up chiefly by Swedish settlers.

Mead, population 617 in 2020, gained national attention as the site of the E3 Biofuels ethanol plant, an ambitious “closed loop” biogas facility that opened in 2007 but failed within a few years; the site later operated as an AltEn plant before closing in February 2021, leaving behind soil contaminated with neonicotinoid pesticide residue that remains a significant environmental story for the community.