Its Register listings are the Randolph Columbus Barrett House, the Ripley County Courthouse and the Ripley County Jail, Sheriff's Office and Sheriff's Residence. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1910 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: the first Doniphan post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Doniphan’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Doniphan is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Doniphan’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 Doniphan’s 12.8 sits above most of its state (75% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Doniphan’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first settlement at Doniphan was made in the 1840s. The community was named for Alexander William Doniphan. A post office called Doniphan has been in operation since 1848.
The earliest recorded permanent settlement in the area that would become Doniphan was that of Lemuel Kittrell in 1819. Kittrell built a grist and wood mill near his home that attracted additional settlers to the region. By 1841, the Kittrell settlement had grown to a sizeable village that included an inn, store, distillery, produce warehouse, tannery, justice of the peace and notary office, blacksmith, and a gunsmith.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Doniphan. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1939Doniphan 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 Doniphan.
Every building
Doniphan, building by building, 1910–1914
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.
1910Sheet 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 viewCurrent River Bridge, Spanning Current River at Doniphan
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Doniphan’s page.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Doniphan’s history
What year was Doniphan founded?
The Doniphan post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Doniphan rank for history?
Doniphan is more historic than 84% 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.
What is on the National Register in Doniphan?
Three places: the Randolph Columbus Barrett House (listed 1976), the Ripley County Courthouse (1976) and the Ripley County Jail, Sheriff's Office and Sheriff's Residence (1991).
How old are the homes in Doniphan?
19% of Doniphan’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.0 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1972.
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 (2), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
Date?
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