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East-Prairie-Main-caboose-moPhoto: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
C−History
History · East Prairie

East Prairie’s post office opened in 1872

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns · #191 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it

Most of East Prairie was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1969. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1916 on, and the census since 1890.

1872first post office
0on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From East Prairie’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How East Prairie began

When was East Prairie founded?

1872

The East Prairie post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1881.

First census: 298 in 18902020 census: 2,943154 years

How historic is East Prairie?

C−

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first East Prairie post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1881.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives East Prairie’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, East Prairie is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #191 of 247 in Missouri. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of East Prairie’s overall grade.
Founding era1872, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19407.2% of homes (±4.8) · typical MO town 8.4% · U.S. 8.4%C+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical MO town 2.4 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 24%
NewerOlder
Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 23%

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 East Prairie’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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1881 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

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 →

The story

How East Prairie came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of East Prairie.

Read it all →

A post office called East Prairie has been in operation since 1872. The community took its name from a prairie of the same name near the original town site. The current town, which lies about a mile south of the original post office site, was established in 1883 as a stop along the St. Louis Southwestern Railway ("Cotton Belt"), and was originally known as "Hibbard". The East Prairie postmaster, S.P. Martin, moved the post office to the new town site. By 1900, the city's name had been changed from "Hibbard" to "East Prairie".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

East Prairie, 1872 to 1939

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe East Prairie post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1907Born hereOrlin Collier is born here
  5. 1913Born hereDan Smoot is born here
  6. 1937In the archiveFlood refugees in schoolhouse at East Prairie, Missouri
  7. 1939On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

East Prairie, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s5 items
Flood refugees in schoolhouse at East Prairie, Missouri1937Flood refugees in schoolhouse at East Prairie, Missou…Flood refugees who were sheltered in the schoolhouse at East Prairie, Missouri1937Flood refugees who were sheltered in the schoolhouse …Mother and two children, flood refugees in the schoolhouse at East Prairie, Missouri1937Mother and two children, flood refugees in the school…Mother and two children, flood refugees in the schoolhouse at East Prairie, Missouri1937Mother and two children, flood refugees in the school…A flood refugee and his family in the schoolhouse at East Prairie, Missouri1937A flood refugee and his family in the schoolhouse at …
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today7 recent
East-Prairie-silos-mo2017East-Prairie-silos-moEast-Prairie-Washington-Chestnut-mo2017East-Prairie-Washington-Chestnut-moEast-Prairie-Main-mo2017East-Prairie-Main-moEast-Prairie-Main-caboose-mo2017East-Prairie-Main-caboose-moEast-Prairie-Cotton-Belt-caboose-mo2017East-Prairie-Cotton-Belt-caboose-moEast-Prairie-Administration-Building-mo2017East-Prairie-Administration-Building-moBig Oak trees state park 6-9-102010Big Oak trees state park 6-9-10
On the map

East Prairie on the map, 1939 to 1969

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

East Prairie on the 1939 USGS mapEast Prairie on the 1954 USGS mapEast Prairie on the 1969 USGS map1939Charleston 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 East Prairie.

Every building

East Prairie, building by building, 1916

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.

East Prairie fire insurance map, 1916, sheet 11916Sheet 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.

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.

Flood refugees in schoolhouse at East Prairie, Missouri
Retake this viewFlood refugees in schoolhouse at East Prairie, Missouri, 1937

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

East Prairie, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,713

Between 298 and 3,713 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in East Prairie

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

See all →
D
Dan SmootFBI agent; conservative political activist · b. 1913
O
Orlin CollierAmerican baseball player · b. 1907
Help out

Finish East Prairie’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFlood refugees in schoolhouse at East P…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

WhitingIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about East Prairie’s history

What year was East Prairie founded?

The East Prairie post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1881.

How does East Prairie rank for history?

East Prairie is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #191 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.

How old are the homes in East Prairie?

7% of East Prairie’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.8 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1969.

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 (7), the Library of Congress (5), 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.