Founding year: the first Cassville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Cassville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cassville is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #44 of 247 in Missouri. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cassville’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 Cassville’s 15.6 sits above most of its state (78% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Cassville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The land which would be called Cassville was platted in 1845. A post office was set up the same year. The community was named after Lewis Cass, a former United States Senator and Secretary of War. Cassville was incorporated on March 3, 1847.
During the forced removal of the Cherokee people along the Trail of Tears, a group traveling the northern route made a stop in Cassville, Missouri. According to the journal of Reverend Daniel S. Butrick, who accompanied the Cherokee on their journey.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cassville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1937Cassville 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 Cassville.
Every building
Cassville, building by building, 1902–1914
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.
1902Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
On the National Register
1 listing protects 5 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Cassville, census by census
Between 287 and 3,266 people in every census since 1870.
15 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Cassville’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Places now gone and burying grounds
Cassville’s post office has been open since 1845.
Gone or out of use
Cassville Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Cassville
Oak Hill
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Cassville’s history
What year was Cassville founded?
The Cassville post office opened in 1845, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Cassville rank for history?
Cassville is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #44 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 Cassville?
One place: the Cassbille Ranger Station Historic District (listed 2003).
How old are the homes in Cassville?
12% of Cassville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.8 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1972.
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 (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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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