Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Gallatin

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
AHistory
History · Gallatin

Gallatin’s post office opened in 1838, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 90% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Daviess County Courthouse, the Ray, A., Taylor House and the Daviess County Rotary Jail and Sheriff's Residence. Below: 2 old photos and papers from 1917 on.

1838first post office
3on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Gallatin began

When was Gallatin founded?

1838

The Gallatin post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1856.

2020 census: 1,821188 years

How historic is Gallatin?

A

More historic than 90% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Gallatin post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1856.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Gallatin’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gallatin is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Gallatin’s overall grade.
Founding era1838, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194028.2% of homes (±8.7) · typical MO town 8.4% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register3 listings, 17.2 per 10,000 residents · typical MO town 2.4 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 90%
NewerOlder

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 Gallatin’s 17.2 sits above most of its state (80% 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 range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1856.

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 Gallatin’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsA post office since 1838: 188 years of Gallatin.Famous sons and daughtersConrad Burns, Walter Page and 7 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Gallatin’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 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 viewMissouri - Big Spring State Part throug…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Gallatin, 1838 to 1935

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1838Post officeThe Gallatin post office opens
  3. 1845Born hereAlexander Monroe Dockery is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900Born hereWalter Page is born here
  6. 1913Born hereBuzz Barton is born here
  7. 1917In the archiveMissouri - Big Spring State Part through Hillsboro
  8. 1935Born hereConrad Burns is born here
Famous people

9 famous people were born in Gallatin

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

See all →
Conrad BurnsAmerican politician · b. 1935
W
Walter PageAmerican jazz musician · b. 1900
Alexander Monroe DockeryMissouri politician · b. 1845
Buzz BartonAmerican actor · b. 1913
B
Brice GarnettProfessional golfer · b. 1982
William Thornton Kemper, Sr.American banker and politician · b. 1866
The story

How Gallatin came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gallatin.

Read it all →

The territory now known as the county of Daviess, was initially inhabited by the Sauk, Meskwaki, and Pottawatomi peoples. "The Treaty of 1837 removed the Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri into Kansas." "Gallatin was founded in 1837 and named for Albert Gallatin, America's longest-serving Secretary of the Treasury (1801–1814). Gallatin was incorporated in 1856. A variant spelling was Galatin.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Gallatin, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Missouri - Big Spring State Part through Hillsboro1917Missouri - Big Spring State Part through Hillsboro
1920s–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
Date unknown1 to date
Gallatin 1-62,500 1920 - PCL Map Collection - pclmaps-topo-mo-gallatin-1920Date?Gallatin 1-62,500 1920 - PCL Map Collection - pclmaps…Map
Today4 recent
Aerial view of Gallatin, Missouri 9-2-20132013Aerial view of Gallatin, Missouri 9-2-2013Gallatin, Missouri2012Gallatin, MissouriGallatin, Missouri2012Gallatin, MissouriGallatin-rotary2007Gallatin-rotary
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.

Missouri - Big Spring State Part through Hillsboro
Retake this viewMissouri - Big Spring State Part through Hillsboro, 1917

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Gallatin

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Daviess County Courthouse
Daviess County CourthouseRay, A., Taylor HouseDaviess County Rotary Jail and Sheriff's Residence
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Second Renaissance Revival1
Queen Anne revival Style1
Octagon Mode1
Late Victorian1
Daviess County CourthouseSecond Renaissance Revival
Ray, A., Taylor HouseQueen Anne revival Style
Daviess County Rotary Jail and Sheriff's ResidenceOctagon Mode

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

Questions about Gallatin’s history

What year was Gallatin founded?

The Gallatin post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1856.

How does Gallatin rank for history?

Gallatin is more historic than 90% 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 Gallatin?

Three places: the Daviess County Courthouse (listed 1980), the Ray, A., Taylor House (1982) and the Daviess County Rotary Jail and Sheriff's Residence (1990).

How old are the homes in Gallatin?

28% of Gallatin’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.7 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1968.

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.