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History · St. Paul

St. Paul dates to 1847, and 10% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Osage Mission Infirmary. Below: maps from 1948 on and the census since 1870.

1847founded
1on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How St. Paul began

When was St. Paul founded?

1847

St. Paul dates its founding to 1847 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 791 in 18702020 census: 614179 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1856.The full story ↓

What stands out about St. Paul’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 St. Paul are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,306 in 1880; 614 people lived here in 2020.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s St. Paul, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsEstablished in 1847: 179 years of St. Paul.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start St. Paul’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how St. Paul’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
People over time

St. Paul, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,40018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,306

Peaked at 1,306 in 1880; 614 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Catholic Mission
1856–1868
Osage Mission
1868–1895
Saint Paul
1895–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Saint Paul
Gone or out of use
Saint Paul Elementary SchoolschoolSaint Paul High Schoolschool

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How St. Paul came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of St. Paul.

Read it all →

Father John Schoenmakers, S.J. founded Osage Mission on April 28, 1847. Called the "Apostle to the Osage" and the "Father of civilization in Southeast Kansas," he served for 36 years as spiritual director, doctor, steward, lawyer, judge, catechist and preacher to the Osage. He served as an officially-appointed U.S. postmaster of Osage Mission from 1851 to 1864. With the relocation of the Osage, he ministered to the needs of the newly-arrived white settlers. He built the present St. Francis Church stone structure. Father Schoenmakers is buried in St. Francis Cemetery one-quarter mile east of the church.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

St. Paul, 1847 to 1948

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1847
    FoundingSt. Paul is established
  3. 1856Post officeThe Catholic Mission post office opens
  4. 1868Post officeThe Catholic Mission post office closes
  5. 1868Post officeThe Osage Mission post office opens
  6. 1872BuiltOsage Mission Infirmary is built
  7. 1880CensusPopulation peaks at 1,306
  8. 1895Post officeThe Osage Mission post office closes
  9. 1895Post officeThe Saint Paul post office opens
  10. 20th century
  11. 1948On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

St. Paul, decade by decade

Today1 recent
KSMap-doton-St. Paul2005KSMap-doton-St. Paul
On the map

St. Paul on the map, 1948 to 1973

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

St. Paul on the 1948 USGS mapSt. Paul on the 1973 USGS map1948Erie sheet · 1:62,500

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

On the National Register

1 historic place in St. Paul

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2005
Osage Mission Infirmary
Osage Mission Infirmary, built 1872
Buildings
All 1 listings
Osage Mission InfirmaryBuilding · listed 2005

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to St. Paul

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

See all →
ZaSu PittsAmerican actress · b. 1894
Buck ClaytonAmerican jazz trumpeter · b. 1911
Jamie Anne AllmanAmerican actress · b. 1977
Shaun HillAmerican football player · b. 1980
C
Carl GregoryAmerican cinematographer · b. 1882
Myron V. GeorgeAmerican politician · b. 1900

Questions about St. Paul’s history

What year was St. Paul founded?

In 1847, according to Wikidata. St. Paul’s post office opened in 1856, and the census of 1870 counted 791 people here.

What is on the National Register in St. Paul?

One place: the Osage Mission Infirmary (listed 2005).

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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.