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History · Benton Township

15% of Benton Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1925 on.

0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Benton Township’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 Benton Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19253 editions of the USGS map, 1925 to 1984. Watch Benton Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Benton Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Benton Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Benton Township on the map, 1925 to 1984

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

Benton Township on the 1925 USGS mapBenton Township on the 1944 USGS mapBenton Township on the 1984 USGS map1925Pattonsburg 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 Benton Township.

The story so far

Benton Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Benton Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Benton Township is a township in Daviess County, Missouri, United States. At the 2020 census, its population was 497. Benton Township has the name of Thomas Hart Benton, a Missouri senator.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 515 to 497 (-3%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Benton Township

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

See all →
Conrad BurnsAmerican politician · b. 1935
Wild Bill ElliottAmerican actor · b. 1904
W
Walter PageAmerican jazz musician · b. 1900
Alexander Monroe DockeryMissouri politician · b. 1845
Buzz BartonAmerican actor · b. 1913
J
John TwistScreenwriter · b. 1898
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Old Pattonsburg
Gone or out of use
Dilly SchoolschoolHeath SchoolschoolOak Ridge SchoolschoolWalnut Grove SchoolschoolWatson Airportairport
1cemetery inside Benton Township
Savage

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Butler TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMarion TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSalem TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMiller TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDallas TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMcFallIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGrand River TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Benton Township’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.