Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Amazonia

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Amazonia

Amazonia dates to 1857, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1924 on and the census since 1880.

1857founded
0on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Amazonia began

When was Amazonia founded?

1857

Amazonia dates its founding to 1857 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 262 in 18802020 census: 238169 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1850.The full story ↓

What stands out about Amazonia’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 Amazonia are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 456 in 1910; 238 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19243 editions of the USGS map, 1924 to 1972. Watch Amazonia change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Amazonia’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Amazonia’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

Amazonia, census by census

010020030040050018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 456

Peaked at 456 in 1910; 238 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

On the map

Amazonia on the map, 1924 to 1972

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

Amazonia on the 1924 USGS mapAmazonia on the 1961 USGS mapAmazonia on the 1972 USGS map1924St Joseph 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 Amazonia.

The story

How Amazonia came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Amazonia.

Read it all →

Amazonia was laid out in 1857. A post office called Amazonia has been in operation since 1859. The origin of the name Amazonia is obscure.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Amazonia, 1850 to 1924

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850Post officeThe Boston post office opens
  3. 1857
    FoundingAmazonia is established
  4. 1859Post officeThe Boston post office closes
  5. 1859Post officeThe Amazonia post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 456
  8. 1924On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Amazonia, decade by decade

Today3 recent
AmazoniaMO2025AmazoniaMOAmazonia United Methodist Church2025Amazonia United Methodist ChurchInterstate 29 South at Exit 60, Highway K & Route CC, Amazonia exit (2004)2004Interstate 29 South at Exit 60, Highway K & Route CC,…
Famous people

Famous people close to Amazonia

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

See all →
EminemAmerican rapper, record producer and actor · b. 1972
Jane WymanAmerican actress · b. 1917
Walter CronkiteAmerican broadcast journalist · b. 1916
Coleman HawkinsAmerican jazz saxophonist · b. 1904
Jim WebbAmerican politician, military officer and author · b. 1946
Betty GarrettAmerican actress, comedian, singer, and dancer · b. 1919
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Amazonia’s post office has been open since 1859. Another post office, Boston, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Boston
1850–1859
Amazonia
1859–today
18501940today

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

Questions about Amazonia’s history

What year was Amazonia founded?

In 1857, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Amazonia’s post office opened in 1850, and the census of 1880 counted 262 people here.

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 (3), 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.