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History · Grandin

Grandin’s post office opened in 1887, and 25 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Grandin was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. 25 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 6 buildings. Below: maps from 1922 on and the census since 1890.

1887first post office
25on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Grandin began

When was Grandin founded?

1887

The Grandin post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 579 in 18902020 census: 226139 years
Founding year: the first Grandin post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Grandin’s past

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

Landmarks on the Register25 places on the National Register.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Grandin are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

25 historic places in Grandin

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

places listed
25
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
29
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Hazel Owens House
Hazel Owens HouseMrs. Louis Bedell HouseAlvis Powers HouseBuford Lawhorn HouseDelia Greensfelder HouseDella Nance HouseEarl Boyer HouseErnie Phillips HouseHazel Shoat HouseIva Lewis HouseJ. W. Gibson HouseJames Hinton HouseJames Smith HouseLawrence Smith HouseLee Tucker HouseLoretta Herrington HouseMasonic LodgeMill PondNettie Jacobson HouseNola Kitterman HouseSixth Street Historic DistrictTerry Mays HouseThornton McNew HouseWallace Knapp HouseWilliam F. Smith House
BuildingsDistrictsSites

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular24
Hazel Owens HouseVernacular
Mrs. Louis Bedell HouseVernacular
All 25 listings
Alvis Powers HouseBuilding · listed 1980Buford Lawhorn HouseBuilding · listed 1980Delia Greensfelder HouseBuilding · listed 1980Della Nance HouseBuilding · listed 1980Earl Boyer HouseBuilding · listed 1980Ernie Phillips HouseBuilding · listed 1980Hazel Shoat HouseBuilding · listed 1980Iva Lewis HouseBuilding · listed 1980J. W. Gibson HouseBuilding · listed 1980James Hinton HouseBuilding · listed 1980James Smith HouseBuilding · listed 1980Lawrence Smith HouseBuilding · listed 1980Lee Tucker HouseBuilding · listed 1980Loretta Herrington HouseBuilding · listed 1980Masonic LodgeBuilding · listed 1980Mill PondSite · listed 1980Nettie Jacobson HouseBuilding · listed 1980Nola Kitterman HouseBuilding · listed 1980Sixth Street Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1980Terry Mays HouseBuilding · listed 1980Thornton McNew HouseBuilding · listed 1980Wallace Knapp HouseBuilding · listed 1980William F. Smith HouseBuilding · listed 1980

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

Help out

Start Grandin’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Grandin came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Grandin.

Read it all →

Grandin was platted in 1910 on the site of the Missouri Lumber and Mining Company's company town which dates back to the late 1880s. The community was named after E. B. Grandin, a businessperson in the local lumber industry. A post office has been in operation at Grandin since 1887.

Twenty-four individual buildings, the Mill Pond, and the Sixth Street Historic District were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Grandin, decade by decade

Today6 recent
William F. Smith House NRHP80002347 Carter County, MO2024William F. Smith House NRHP80002347 Carter County, MOMrs. Louis Bedell House NRHP 80002324 Carter County, MO2024Mrs. Louis Bedell House NRHP 80002324 Carter County, …Masonic Lodge NRHP 80002335 Carter County, MO2024Masonic Lodge NRHP 80002335 Carter County, MOLawrence Smith House NRHP 80002346 Carter County, MO2024Lawrence Smith House NRHP 80002346 Carter County, MOHazel Shoat House NRHP 80002343 Carter County, MO2024Hazel Shoat House NRHP 80002343 Carter County, MOMOMap-doton-Grandin2004MOMap-doton-Grandin
On the map

Grandin on the map, 1944 to 1997

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

Grandin on the 1944 USGS mapGrandin on the 1968 USGS mapGrandin on the 1997 USGS map1944Grandin 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 Grandin.

Every building

Grandin, building by building, 1922

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.

Grandin fire insurance map, 1922, sheet 11922Sheet 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.

People over time

Grandin, census by census

01002003004005006001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 579

Between 226 and 579 people in every census since 1890.

11 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Grandin

Nobody well known was born in Grandin itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
S
Scott InnesAmerican actor · b. 1966
Bernarr MacfaddenAmerican physical culturist and magazine publis… · b. 1868
Nelson McDowellAmerican actor · b. 1870
A. S. J. CarnahanAmerican politician · b. 1897
B
Ben HansbroughAmerican basketball player · b. 1987
R
Robert BanksAmerican chemist · b. 1921

Questions about Grandin’s history

What year was Grandin founded?

The Grandin post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Grandin?

25 listings: 23 buildings, among them the Hazel Owens House (listed 1980, the first), 1 historic district, the Sixth Street Historic District, with 6 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 29 historic buildings in all.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (25), Wikipedia, 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.