Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1912 on and the census since 1950.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Doolittle’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Doolittle. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Doolittle.
From Wikipedia’s history of Doolittle.
The town is named for Lt. General Jimmy Doolittle of World War II fame who bombed Tokyo in a daring raid, which helped to turn the tide of the war in the Pacific. The settlement was originally called Centertown because it was halfway between Rolla and Newburg. This name, coined by a local man named Monroe Ramsey, caught on over the years.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Between 237 and 701 people in every census since 1950.
8 censuses, 1950–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Doolittle’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Doolittle itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
