Cuba dates to 1857, and 8 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns · #117 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
Most of Cuba was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. 8 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 25 buildings between them. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1914 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1857. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Cuba’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cuba is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #117 of 247 in Missouri. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cuba’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 Cuba’s 103 sits above most of its state (91% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 33 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% 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 (±3.0 points). Two sources give 1857.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Cuba’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Cuba was platted in 1857 when it was certain the railroad would be extended to that point. It was named after the island of Cuba.
President Harry S. Truman visited Cuba during a tour of U.S. Route 66. He surveyed the property that would eventually become Indian Hills Lake. Indian Hills Lake was originally known as "Indian Head Lake" because the skull of a Native American was found during excavation.
Bette Davis and Amelia Earhart also visited the town. Their visits are commemorated in the Viva Cuba Mural Project.
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 Cuba. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1948Cuba 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 Cuba.
Every building
Cuba, building by building, 1914–1924
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.
1914Sheet 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.
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 viewCuba MO - Main Street, Cuba, MO. 1A1313 (Production File) (NBY 427372), 1931
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Cuba’s page.
Cuba’s post office has been open since 1860. Another post office, Amanda, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Amanda
1857–1860
Cuba
1860–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Amanda
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Cuba’s history
What year was Cuba founded?
In 1857, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Cuba’s post office opened in 1857, and the census of 1880 counted 374 people here.
How does Cuba rank for history?
Cuba is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #117 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 Cuba?
8 listings: 6 buildings and 2 historic districts, the Wagon Wheel Motel, Cafe and Station and the Uptown Cuba Historic District, with 25 contributing buildings. 33 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Cuba?
4% of Cuba’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1978.
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), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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.
2009
2009
2009
2009
2009
2009
2007
2004
