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History · Carlton

Carlton’s post office opened in 1872, and 75% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1964 on and the census since 1890.

1872first post office
0on the National Register
75%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Carlton began

When was Carlton founded?

1872

The Carlton post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 121 in 18902020 census: 40154 years
Founding year: the first Carlton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Carlton’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Carlton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Carlton’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Carlton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Carlton’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Carlton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Carlton.

Read it all →

Carlton was a station and shipping point on the Missouri Pacific Railroad.

A post office was opened in Carlton in 1872, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1995.

ChaptersEarly history19th century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Carlton, 1872 to 1964

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe Carlton post office opens
  3. 1887Born hereDavid L. Holmes is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1964On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Carlton, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Detailed map of2010Detailed map ofMap
On the map

Carlton on the map, 1964 to 1985

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Carlton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Carlton on the 1964 USGS mapCarlton on the 1985 USGS map1964Carlton sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Carlton.

People over time

Carlton, census by census

01001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 138

Between 38 and 138 people in every census since 1890.

11 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Carlton’s Wikipedia page.

Questions about Carlton’s history

What year was Carlton founded?

The Carlton post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.