Caruthersville’s post office opened in 1856, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 41% of U.S. towns · #136 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
Most of Caruthersville was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Its Register listing is the Caruthersville Water Tower. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1890.
Founding year: the first Caruthersville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1857.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Caruthersville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Caruthersville is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #136 of 247 in Missouri. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Caruthersville’s 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 Caruthersville’s 1.9 sits near the middle of its state (51% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1857 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Caruthersville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Peaked at 8,643 in 1960; 5,562 people lived here in 2020.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Caruthersville’s Wikipedia page.
Every building
Caruthersville, building by building, 1900–1919
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Caruthersville lies in Missouri's Bootheel on the Mississippi River. The word "Pemiscot" comes from the word pemiskaw, meaning "liquid mud" in the Fox language. Mississippi waters have frequently flooded the flatlands, creating fertile alluvial land valued for farming. Settling the floodplain has resulted in periodic problems for residents, as there are regular floods despite (and because of) elaborate constructed systems of levees and flood controls.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Caruthersville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1939Caruthersville 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 Caruthersville.
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.
Retake this viewFamily squatting on FSA property, Caruthersville, Missouri, 8a28776, 1938
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Caruthersville’s page.
The Caruthersville post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1857.
How does Caruthersville rank for history?
Caruthersville is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #136 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 Caruthersville?
One place: the Caruthersville Water Tower (listed 1982).
How old are the homes in Caruthersville?
10% of Caruthersville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1970.
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 (3), the Library of Congress (3), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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