Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1944 on and the census since 1920.
The Labette post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Neola (1868), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
Labette was named for Pierre Labette, a pioneer settler.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Labette’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Labette.
There have been three separate towns with the name Labette in Labette County since 1866. The present one was founded in 1870. It was named for Pierre Labette, a pioneer settler.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Labette, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The first store in the township, aside from those located in Chetopa, was kept by Orville Thompson, a little north of Labette Creek, on the east road leading from Oswego to Chetopa; it was started in the spring of 1866. Soon after this the town of Labette was started, on the Neosho.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Among the many efforts to secure a road from Sedalia or some other point to the northeast of this county, was one by the town of Labette, soon after its location, in 1870. The Sedalia, Fort Scott & Santa Fe Railway Company was organized, and in September, 1870, a preliminary survey was made from Fort Scott to Labette. Arriving at the latter place,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Labette. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Labette.
Between 50 and 207 people in every census since 1920.
11 censuses, 1920–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Labette’s Wikipedia page.
Labette had its own post office from 1870 to 1986. Another post office, Neola, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Labette post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2005