Blue Springs’ post office opened in 1848, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 54% of U.S. towns · #110 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
Most of Blue Springs was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 12 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1933 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Blue Springs post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1880.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Blue Springs’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Blue Springs is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #110 of 247 in Missouri. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Blue Springs’ overall grade.
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 Blue Springs’ 2.0 sits near the middle of its state (52% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 12 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. 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; Wikidata gives 1880.
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 Blue Springs’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
As early as 1825, a spring of water flowing from the side of a hill and falling into a tributary of Little Blue River was used by campers, traders, and many wagons starting on the Santa Fe expeditions. They met here before crossing the plains. The spring was named Blue Springs by freighters freighting provisions to the Harmony Mission, on the Marais de Cygnes River in Bates County Missouri, from Lexington, Missouri in Lafayette County.
The presence of water and a need for supplies led to the construction of a grist mill and a permanent settlement of Blue Springs near the spring. The original town site of Blue Springs and the spring for which Blue Springs was named was located near what became Burrus Old Mill Park.
Passages that mention Blue Springs, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The History of Jackson county, Missouri, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, etc., biographical sketches of its citizens, Jackson county in the late war... history of Missouri, map of Jackson county ..1881 · page 315Read the page →
Read the text
Frankhn Smith settled near the village of Blue Springs about the year 1838. He established the first post-office at this point, and named it Blue Springs, from which the village afterward derived its name. He came from Virginia. He represented the county in the General Assembly of the State, and held the office of Justice of the Peace for many years, for which he was considered particularly well qualified.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
About this time, David Mock, an uncle of Mrs. Records was appointed postmaster of Blue Springs, but resigned not long afterwards and Thomas W. Records was appointed to fill the place. He conducted the post office in connection with his store and built up an extensive retail business and also dealt in country produce which he would gather among the farmers and haul to the Kansas City markets. In those days, eggs were packed in straw and placed in barrels and boxes with straw between them.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Jackson County, Missouri1920 · page 474Read the page →
Read the text
C. D. Lowe was reared to manhood in Jackson County, and his home was adjacent to the town of Blue Springs, where the family located in 1881. He attended the Eureka district school during his boyhood days, and began doing for himself when he became of age. He worked for his father on the wage and share system until he attained the age of 43 years, and in 1906 he began farming on his own account. He resided on the home place and cared for his aged mother until 1910, when he bought his present place.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The History of Jackson county, Missouri, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, etc., biographical sketches of its citizens, Jackson county in the late war... history of Missouri, map of Jackson county ..1881 · page 113Read the page →
Read the text
usually lived in the timber and ate hominy and potatoes, frequently having no bread. At or near Stony Point, near the south boundary of Sni a-bar Township, there were several early settlers. Near the present site of the little village of Blue Springs was the early home of the Smiths, Clarks, Burrises, Dailies, Judge R. D. Stanley and others. The first prairie broken in Jackson county was done here by David Dailey near the East Fork of the Little Blue. The work was accomplished with a "barshear plow," which consisted of a beam to which was fastened the coulter or "shear," as it was called, to cut the tough sod, with
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Blue Springs, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
The Blue Springs post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1880.
How does Blue Springs rank for history?
Blue Springs is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #110 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.
What is on the National Register in Blue Springs?
One place: the German Evangelical Pastors' Home Historic District (listed 1988).
How old are the homes in Blue Springs?
2% of Blue Springs’ 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 1986.
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 (10), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2026
2023
2023
2018
2014
2011
2011
2011
2004
