Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 9 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1945 on, and the census since 1860.
Arcadia dates its founding to 1849 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1860.
Arcadia was named after the Greek region of Arcadia.
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 Arcadia’s history is told.
Lost half of its people between 1890 and 1900, then grew 3-fold.
16 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Arcadia’s Wikipedia page.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archiveMap of Arcadia Rifle Range Reserve and Jefferson Barracks, Missouri
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyFrom Wikipedia’s history of Arcadia.
Arcadia was laid out and platted in 1849. It was named after the Greek region of Arcadia. A post office called Arcadia has been in operation since 1871.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Arcadia. 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 Arcadia.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Nobody well known was born in Arcadia itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Arcadia’s post office has been open since 1871.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1849, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Arcadia’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1860 counted 135 people here.
One place: the Ursuline Academy-Arcadia College Historic District (listed 1998).
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 (6), 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.
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