Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1925 on and old-book passages.
The Conception post office opened in 1864, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Conception’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Conception.
Conception was built up chiefly by Irish Catholics. The community was named for the Catholic dogma of Immaculate Conception. A post office called Conception has been in operation since 1864 and its abbey was founded in 1873
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Conception. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Conception.
Passages that mention Conception, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Conception, a Catholic settlement, fifteen miles southeast of Maryville, was founded by a land association, organized by citizens of Pennsylvania, for an actual settlement of Catholics, as early as 1856. The year following 20,000 acres of land, chiefly lying in Nodaway County, were entered in the General Land Office at Washington, and relocated next year in the District Land Office at Plattsburg, Missouri. Some of these settlers, under the direction of a priest of the Philadelphia diocese, came out early in 1858, and made some improvements. They continued
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Father James Powers came from Reading, Pennsylvania, in the year 1856, and entered the land where the town of Conception is now located, in behalf of a company of which he was a member. The company was composed of Father Powers, Owen Reilly, and Anthony Felix, as above mentioned. They selected 20,000 acres of land in Nodaway and Gentry Counties. Father Powers and William Brady laid out the town of Conception in i860. On June 9, i860, the colony house and chapel were finished and dedicated. There were forty acres laid out
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.
Nobody well known was born in Conception itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Conception post office opened in 1864, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.
2025
