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C+History
History · Dexter

Dexter dates to 1873, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 39% of U.S. towns · #141 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it

Most of Dexter was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. Its Register listing is the Dexter Gymnasium. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1880.

1873founded
1on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Dexter’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Dexter began

When was Dexter founded?

1873

Dexter dates its founding to 1873 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 489 in 18802020 census: 7,927153 years

How historic is Dexter?

C+

More historic than 39% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1887.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Dexter’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dexter is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns, #141 of 247 in Missouri. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Dexter’s overall grade.
Founding era1873, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19408.6% of homes (±3.7) · typical MO town 8.4% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register1 listing, 1.3 per 10,000 residents · typical MO town 2.4 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 39%
NewerOlder
Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 43%

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 Dexter’s 1.3 sits near the middle of its state (49% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.7 points). Two sources give 1873.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Dexter’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1895 to 1911, drew every building in Dexter.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dexter’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dexter’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewEvans Pottery: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Dexter, building by building, 1895–1911

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.

Dexter fire insurance map, 1895, sheet 11895Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

The story

How Dexter came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dexter.

Read it all →

Dexter was platted in 1873. Mr. Dex, an early settler, gave the community the name of his horse, Dexter. Dexter experienced rapid growth with the arrival of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway. A post office called Dexter City was established in 1873, and the name was changed to Dexter in 1887.

The Dexter Gymnasium was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

On July 10, 2021, an EF2 tornado hit the town with at least 150 homes reported damaged.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Dexter, 1873 to 1953

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873
    FoundingDexter is established
  3. 1887Post officeThe Dexter post office opens
  4. 1898Born hereClarence Paul Oliver is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1916Born hereMax West is born here
  7. 1923Born hereAndrew J. Hinshaw is born here
  8. 1934On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1940BuiltDexter Gymnasium is built
  10. 1953Born hereDavid Lee is born here
By decade

Dexter, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Evans PotteryDate?Evans Pottery
Today1 recent
Dexter Vistor center and grain towers2014Dexter Vistor center and grain towers
On the map

Dexter on the map, 1934 to 1979

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

Dexter on the 1934 USGS mapDexter on the 1949 USGS mapDexter on the 1963 USGS mapDexter on the 1979 USGS map1934Bloomfield 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 Dexter.

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.

Evans Pottery
Retake this viewEvans Pottery

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Dexter’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Dexter

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2001
Dexter Gymnasium
Dexter Gymnasium, built 1940
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Art Deco1
Dexter GymnasiumArt Deco · Built 1940

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Dexter, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,000188019001920194019601980200020207,927

Grew from 489 people in 1880 to 7,927 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Dexter

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Andrew J. HinshawAmerican politician · b. 1923
Max WestAmerican baseball player · b. 1916
C
Clarence Paul OliverAmerican geneticist · b. 1898
David LeeAmerican football coach, born 1953 · b. 1953
George K. SislerUnited States Army Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1937

Questions about Dexter’s history

What year was Dexter founded?

In 1873, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Dexter’s post office opened in 1887, and the census of 1880 counted 489 people here.

How does Dexter rank for history?

Dexter is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns, #141 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 Dexter?

One place: the Dexter Gymnasium (listed 2001).

How old are the homes in Dexter?

9% of Dexter’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.7 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1971.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (1), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.