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B−History
History · Bridgeton

Bridgeton dates to 1794, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 47% of U.S. towns · #123 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it

Most of Bridgeton was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Its Register listing is the Payne-Gentry House. Below: maps from 1924 on and the census since 1880.

1794founded
1on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Bridgeton began

When was Bridgeton founded?

1794

Bridgeton dates its founding to 1794 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 197 in 18802020 census: 11,445232 years

How historic is Bridgeton?

B−

More historic than 47% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1834.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Bridgeton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bridgeton is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #123 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 Bridgeton’s overall grade.
Founding era1794, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19402.1% of homes (±1.6) · typical MO town 8.4% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register1 listing, 0.9 per 10,000 residents · typical MO town 2.4 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 47%
NewerOlder
Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 50%

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 Bridgeton’s 0.9 sits near the middle of its state (49% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1794.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share (±1.6 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Bridgeton’s past

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

Lost villages5 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Bridgeton, and 4 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Bridgeton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1890 and 1920, then grew more than tenfold.Deep rootsEstablished in 1794: 232 years of Bridgeton.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

Bridgeton had its own post office from 1843 to 1958. Five other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Owens Station
1834–1843
Fee Fee
1842–1859
Bridgeton
1843–1958
Bonfils Station
1867–1894
Pattonville
1876–1958
Bonfils
1894–1914
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BonfilsBridgeton TerraceNatural Bridge JunctionPattonville
Gone or out of use
Bridgeton CommonsparkFee Fee ChurchchurchNational Guard Target Rangemilitary
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bridgeton
Fee FeeMount Lebanon

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

Help out

Start Bridgeton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bridgeton’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
People over time

Bridgeton, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00018801900192019401960198020002020237 in 1890Low: 121

Lost half of its people between 1890 and 1920, then grew more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Bridgeton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bridgeton.

Read it all →

The first Europeans to interact with Native American peoples and settle there were associated with the area's days as part of the French Illinois Territory. The French explorer, Étienne de Veniard de Bourgmont traveled the area in 1724, on a trail that developed as the main route between St. Louis and St. Charles.

The Spanish gained colonial control in 1768 after France was defeated by Great Britain in the Seven Years' War and ceded its territory west of the Mississippi to Spain; they remained in control until 1804, when the area was transferred to the Americans in the Louisiana Purchase. In a 1799 census, the population of "Marais des Liards" was given as 337 whites and 42 slaves.

ChaptersEarly historyModern history2011 tornado

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bridgeton, 1794 to 1997

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1794
    FoundingBridgeton is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1834Post officeThe Owens Station post office opens
  5. 1842Post officeThe Fee Fee post office opens
  6. 1843Post officeThe Owens Station post office closes
  7. 1843Post officeThe Bridgeton post office opens
  8. 1859Post officeThe Fee Fee post office closes
  9. 1870BuiltPayne-Gentry House is built
  10. 20th century
  11. 1924On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1958Post officeThe Bridgeton post office closes
  13. 1961Born hereJanet Jones is born here
  14. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 19,992
  15. 1975Born hereEric Schmitt is born here
  16. 1993Born hereSam Fink is born here
  17. 1997Born hereNoah Elliott is born here
By decade

Bridgeton, decade by decade

Today17 recent
St. Ann, Missouri2016St. Ann, MissouriBridgeton, Missouri2016Bridgeton, MissouriCommunityPicture2014CommunityPictureInterstate 70 at US 67 Lindbergh Blvd exits - Bridgeton, Missouri, 19992013Interstate 70 at US 67 Lindbergh Blvd exits - Bridget…Interstate 70 at Route 180 west - St. Charles Rock Rd exit - Bridgeton, Missouri, 19992013Interstate 70 at Route 180 west - St. Charles Rock Rd…Interstate 70 at Lambert St. Louis Airport exit - Bridgeton, Missouri, 19992013Interstate 70 at Lambert St. Louis Airport exit - Bri…Interstate 70 at Interstate 270 exits - Bridgeton, Missouri, 19992013Interstate 70 at Interstate 270 exits - Bridgeton, Mi…Interstate 70 at Interstate 270 exit - Bridgeton, Missouri, 19992013Interstate 70 at Interstate 270 exit - Bridgeton, Mis…Interstate 70 at Interstate 270 - Bridgeton, Missouri, 20002013Interstate 70 at Interstate 270 - Bridgeton, Missouri…Interstate 70 at Cypress Rd, Hunter Rd exit - Bridgeton, Missouri, 19992013Interstate 70 at Cypress Rd, Hunter Rd exit - Bridget…Interstate 70 at Cypress Rd exit - Bridgeton, Missouri, 19992013Interstate 70 at Cypress Rd exit - Bridgeton, Missour…Interstate 70 approaches US 67 Lindbergh Blvd south exit - Bridgeton, Missouri, 19992013Interstate 70 approaches US 67 Lindbergh Blvd south e…Interstate 70 approaches St. Charles Rock Rd exit - Bridgeton, Missouri, 19992013Interstate 70 approaches St. Charles Rock Rd exit - B…Interstate 70 approaches Route 180 west - St. Charles Rock Rd exit - Bridgeton, Missouri, 19992013Interstate 70 approaches Route 180 west - St. Charles…Interstate 70 approaches Interstate 270 exit - Bridgeton, Missouri, 19992013Interstate 70 approaches Interstate 270 exit - Bridge…Tornado - Bridgeton, Mo. , May 18, 2011 -- This home located on Old St. Charles Road in Bridgeton was among the hardest…2011Tornado - Bridgeton, Mo. , May 18, 2011 -- This home …MOMap-doton-Bridgeton2004MOMap-doton-Bridgeton
On the map

Bridgeton on the map, 1924 to 1994

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

Bridgeton on the 1924 USGS mapBridgeton on the 1933 USGS mapBridgeton on the 1954 USGS mapBridgeton on the 1968 USGS mapBridgeton on the 1974 USGS mapBridgeton on the 1994 USGS map1924Robertson sheet · 1:24,000

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

On the National Register

1 historic place in Bridgeton

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Payne-Gentry House
Payne-Gentry House, built 1870
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular1
Payne-Gentry HouseVernacular · Built 1870

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Bridgeton

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

See all →
Eric SchmittAmerican politician and lawyer · b. 1975
Janet JonesAmerican actress · b. 1961
Sam FinkAmerican soccer player · b. 1993
N
Noah ElliottAmerican Paralympic snowboarder · b. 1997
Josh FlemingAmerican baseball player · b. 1996
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Maryland HeightsIts storyDSt. Ann1 historic placeC−Hazelwood2 historic placesDSt. Charles15 historic placesAChampIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Bridgeton’s history

What year was Bridgeton founded?

In 1794, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Bridgeton’s post office opened in 1834, and the census of 1880 counted 197 people here.

How does Bridgeton rank for history?

Bridgeton is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #123 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 Bridgeton?

One place: the Payne-Gentry House (listed 1979).

How old are the homes in Bridgeton?

2% of Bridgeton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 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 (17), Wikidata (1), 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) 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.