Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Dearborn

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Dearborn

Dearborn dates to 1882, and 43% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1917 on and the census since 1890.

1882founded
0on the National Register
43%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Dearborn began

When was Dearborn founded?

1882

Dearborn dates its founding to 1882 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 239 in 18902020 census: 482144 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1883.The full story ↓

What stands out about Dearborn’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Dearborn are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Dearborn’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dearborn’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dearborn’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
The story

How Dearborn came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dearborn.

Read it all →

The city was named for Henry Dearborn, Revolutionary War general and Secretary of War, and was incorporated in 1882.

From 1913 to 1933, Dearborn was one of the stops along the Kansas City, Clay County and St. Joseph Railway (KCCC&SJ), an interurban light rail line connecting Kansas City and St. Joseph. Portions of the right-of-way and roadbed are still visible from Dearborn north to St. Joseph.

In November 2012, one of two winning tickets for a then record-breaking $587.5 million Powerball jackpot was purchased at the Trex Mart gas station in Dearborn.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Dearborn, 1882 to 1927

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1882
    FoundingDearborn is established
  3. 1883Post officeThe Dearborn post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1903Born hereWilliam C. Boyd is born here
  6. 1927On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Dearborn, decade by decade

Today2 recent
DearbornMO2025DearbornMOMOMap-doton-Dearborn2004MOMap-doton-Dearborn
On the map

Dearborn on the map, 1927 to 1978

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

Dearborn on the 1927 USGS mapDearborn on the 1951 USGS mapDearborn on the 1961 USGS mapDearborn on the 1978 USGS map1927Dearborn 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 Dearborn.

Every building

Dearborn, building by building, 1917

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 sheet.

Dearborn fire insurance map, 1917, sheet 11917Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

People over time

Dearborn, census by census

01002003004005006001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 578

Between 239 and 578 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Questions about Dearborn’s history

What year was Dearborn founded?

In 1882, according to Wikidata. Dearborn’s post office opened in 1883, and the census of 1890 counted 239 people here.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), 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.