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History · Devon

Devon’s post office opened in 1889, and 79% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1886 on.

1889first post office
0on the National Register
79%homes built before 1940
Quick answers

How Devon began

When was Devon founded?

1889

The Devon post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 71137 years
Founding year: the first Devon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Devon’s past

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

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Devon’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
On the map

Devon on the map, 1886 to 1991

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

Devon on the 1886 USGS mapDevon on the 1893 USGS mapDevon on the 1958 USGS mapDevon on the 1986 USGS mapDevon on the 1991 USGS map1886Fort Scott sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story

How Devon came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Devon.

Read it all →

Devon was originally called Mill Creek, and under the latter name was founded in 1860. The present name is after Devon, in England.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
Famous people

Famous people close to Devon

Nobody well known was born in Devon itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →

Questions about Devon’s history

What year was Devon founded?

The Devon post office opened in 1889, 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 Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.