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D−History
History · Arnold

Arnold’s post office opened in 1945

More historic than 4% of U.S. towns · #239 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it

Most of Arnold was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1912 on and the census since 1980.

1945first post office
0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Original uploaded by Fredlander (Transfered by Gary Dee) · Public domain
Quick answers

How Arnold began

When was Arnold founded?

1945

The Arnold post office opened in 1945, the earliest record of the town by name. Four smaller post offices, Maxville (1873), Wickes (1888) and Beck (1900), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 19,141 in 19802020 census: 20,85881 years

How historic is Arnold?

D−

More historic than 4% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Arnold post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Arnold’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Arnold is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns, #239 of 247 in Missouri. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Arnold’s overall grade.
Founding era1945, from the first post office: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19401.8% of homes (±1.1) · typical MO town 8.4% · U.S. 8.4%C−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical MO town 2.4 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 4%
NewerOlder
Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 3%

Missouri towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Missouri town has 2.4 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Arnold’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±1.1 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Arnold’s past

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

Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Arnold, and 6 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Arnold are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19126 editions of the USGS map, 1912 to 1982. Watch Arnold change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Arnold’s post office has been open since 1945. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Maxville
1873–1905
Wickes
1888–1910
Beck
1900–1905
Ten Brook
1910–1915
Arnold
1945–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BeckFlamm CityLakesideMaxvilleTen BrookWickes
Gone or out of use
HenekelocaleOak Ridge SchoolschoolSoulard Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Arnold
Richardson

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

Help out

Start Arnold’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Arnold’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
On the map

Arnold on the map, 1912 to 1982

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

Arnold on the 1912 USGS mapArnold on the 1948 USGS mapArnold on the 1954 USGS mapArnold on the 1968 USGS mapArnold on the 1974 USGS mapArnold on the 1982 USGS map1912Kimmswick 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 Arnold.

The story

How Arnold came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Arnold.

Read it all →

The Osage peoples were the first people that lived in what today is Arnold, many artifacts have been found in the area that show there was an ancient Osage village near where the Meramec River meets the Mississippi River. In the area where 2 salt licks used to be, human bones have been found, along with pottery shards and many other artifacts. The first European settler in Arnold, was John Hildebrand an immigrant from Germany, that lived in Monongahela County, Pennsylvania. He was the first white settler in the area that is today Jefferson county, he established a settlement near saline creek, with a fort for protection. In 1776 French Canadian settler Jean Baptiste Gamache, who operated a ferry boat across the Meramec River was granted 1050 arpents of land by King Charles III of Spain. This ferry was on the King's Trace or El Camino Real, from St. Louis to Ste. Genevieve, Missouri.[1]…

ChaptersEminent domainRed light camerasNotable eventsMeramec River flooding

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Arnold, 1873 to 1971

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Post officeThe Maxville post office opens
  3. 1888Post officeThe Wickes post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900Post officeThe Beck post office opens
  6. 1905Post officeThe Maxville post office closes
  7. 1905Post officeThe Beck post office closes
  8. 1910Post officeThe Wickes post office closes
  9. 1912On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1951Born hereFrank J. Grass is born here
  11. 1971Born hereMike Wells is born here
By decade

Arnold, decade by decade

Today7 recent
Rickman Auditorium in Arnold, MO May 15, 20252025Rickman Auditorium in Arnold, MO May 15, 2025Downtown St. Louis seen from2023Downtown St. Louis seen fromA street in2023A street inArnold Water Tower from I-55 North2010Arnold Water Tower from I-55 NorthBarack Obama at town hall in Arnold, MS 4-29-09 22009Barack Obama at town hall in Arnold, MS 4-29-09 2Barack Obama at town hall in Arnold, MO 4-29-09 12009Barack Obama at town hall in Arnold, MO 4-29-09 1MOMap-doton-Arnold2004MOMap-doton-Arnold
People over time

Arnold, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,000198020002020Peak: 20,858

Between 18,828 and 20,858 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Arnold

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Frank J. GrassRetired United States Army officer · b. 1951
M
Mike WellsAmerican football player · b. 1971
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Imperial1 historic placeC

Questions about Arnold’s history

What year was Arnold founded?

The Arnold post office opened in 1945, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Arnold rank for history?

Arnold is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns, #239 of 247 in Missouri. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Arnold?

2% of Arnold’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1977.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (7), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.