On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Deer Creek Township is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Deer Creek Township’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 Deer Creek Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.2 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Deer Creek Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Crescent Hill
1858–1880
Coleville
1871–1879
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ColevilleCrescent Hill
Gone or out of use
Coleville SchoolschoolCrescent Hill SchoolschoolHess Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Deer Creek Township
Crescent Hill
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Deer Creek Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Deer Creek Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Deer Creek Township is one of twenty-four townships in Bates County, Missouri, and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area within the USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 2,162. The township was named for a nearby creek of the same name where deer were abundant.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,349 to 2,414 (+3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Deer Creek Township, 1858 to 1961
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Deer Creek Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1961Adrian 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 Deer Creek Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Deer Creek Township
Nobody well known was born in Deer Creek Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Deer Creek Township is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in Deer Creek Township?
24% of Deer Creek Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.2 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1974.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
