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History · Baring

Baring dates to 1888, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 17 old photos and papers, maps from 1903 on, and the census since 1890.

1888founded
0on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
17old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Baring’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Baring began

When was Baring founded?

1888

Baring dates its founding to 1888 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 266 in 18902020 census: 125138 years
Founding year: Wikipedia.The full story ↓

What stands out about Baring’s past

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

A town in old photos17 old photos, postcards and papers.Boom and bustPeaked at 379 in 1910; 125 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19033 editions of the USGS map, 1903 to 1981. Watch Baring change.Old housesHalf of Baring’s homes were built before 1947.
★ What stands out · By decade

Baring, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s17 items
Baring (vicinity), Missouri. Missouri farmstead along the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad between Madison, Iowa…1943Baring (vicinity), Missouri. Missouri farmstead along…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Baring (vicinity), Missouri. Missouri farmstead along the Atchison, Topeka, and Sa…1943Untitled photo, possibly related to: Baring (vicinity…Baring, Missouri. The coal chute along the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad between Fort Madison, Iowa and Marce…1943Baring, Missouri. The coal chute along the Atchison, …Baring, Missouri. Going through the town on the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad between Fort Madison, Iowa and …1943Baring, Missouri. Going through the town on the Atchi…Baring, Missouri. A train stopping for coal and water along the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad between Fort Ma…1943Baring, Missouri. A train stopping for coal and water…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Baring, Missouri. Going through the town on the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Rai…1943Untitled photo, possibly related to: Baring, Missouri…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Baring, Missouri. Going through the town on the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Rai…1943Untitled photo, possibly related to: Baring, Missouri…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Baring, Missouri. A train stopping for coal and water along the Atchison, Topeka, …1943Untitled photo, possibly related to: Baring, Missouri…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Baring, Missouri. A train stopping for coal and water along the Atchison, Topeka, …1943Untitled photo, possibly related to: Baring, Missouri…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Baring, Missouri. A train stopping for coal and water along the Atchison, Topeka, …1943Untitled photo, possibly related to: Baring, Missouri…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Baring, Missouri. A train stopping for coal and water along the Atchison, Topeka, …1943Untitled photo, possibly related to: Baring, Missouri…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Baring, Missouri. A train stopping for coal and water along the Atchison, Topeka, …1943Untitled photo, possibly related to: Baring, Missouri…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Baring, Missouri. A train stopping for coal and water along the Atchison, Topeka, …1943Untitled photo, possibly related to: Baring, Missouri…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Baring, Missouri. A train stopping for coal and water along the Atchison, Topeka, …1943Untitled photo, possibly related to: Baring, Missouri…Baring, Missouri. A flagman returning to a train on the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad, as it is about to star…1943Baring, Missouri. A flagman returning to a train on t…Conductor J. S. Durham, of Fort Madison, Iowa, has been with the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad for twenty-six…1943Conductor J. S. Durham, of Fort Madison, Iowa, has be…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Conductor J. S. Durham, of Fort Madison, Iowa, has been with the Atchison, Topeka,…1943Untitled photo, possibly related to: Conductor J. S. …
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
People over time

Baring, census by census

01002003004001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 379

Peaked at 379 in 1910; 125 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

On the map

Baring on the map, 1903 to 1981

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

Baring on the 1903 USGS mapBaring on the 1965 USGS mapBaring on the 1981 USGS map1903Edina sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story

How Baring came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Baring.

Read it all →

Baring was platted in 1888 when the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway was extended to that point. The community was named for the Baring Brothers & Co., investors in the railroad. A post office has been in operation at Baring since 1888.

On the evening of August 4, 2023, an EF2 tornado struck Baring, badly damaging homes and businesses.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Baring, 1888 to 1943

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888
    FoundingBaring is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1903On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 379
  6. 1943In the archiveBaring (vicinity), Missouri. Missouri farmstead along the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe …
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Baring (vicinity), Missouri. Missouri farmstead along the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad between Madison, Iowa…
Retake this viewBaring (vicinity), Missouri. Missouri farmstead along the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad between Madison, Iowa…, 1943

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Baring’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Baring

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

See all →
Geraldine PageAmerican actress · b. 1924
G
Gordon BellAmerican computer engineer · b. 1934
G
George SalingAthletics competitor · b. 1909
R
Robert PearceOlympic wrestler · b. 1908
Farrell DobbsAmerican labour organizer, left-wing politician… · b. 1907
George TurnerU.S. politician from Washington state · b. 1850
Help out

Finish Baring’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBaring (vicinity), Missouri. Missouri f…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Baring’s history

What year was Baring founded?

In 1888, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1890 counted 266 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 the Library of Congress (17), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.