Latimer was platted in 1887 by M. D. and Jane Herington (founders of the city of Herington) as a stop on the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway (later to become the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad) with the name given to honor a railroad official.  Several businesses, including a bank, and lumber yard thrived in Latimer through the end of the 19th century well into the 20th century with the grain elevator continuing operation until the mid-1990s.  As with other banks in the county, the Latimer State Bank closed during the Great Depression.  A Lutheran Church is the only remaining survivor in Latimer today.