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AHistory
History · Greenfield

Greenfield dates to 1841, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 87% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Greenfield Opera House Building and the Washington Hotel. Below: maps from 1885 on and the census since 1860.

1841founded
2on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Greenfield began

When was Greenfield founded?

1841

Greenfield dates its founding to 1841 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 228 in 18602020 census: 1,220185 years

How historic is Greenfield?

A

More historic than 87% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1850.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Greenfield’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Greenfield is more historic than 87% 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 Greenfield’s overall grade.
Founding era1841, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194024.4% of homes (±6.8) · typical MO town 8.4% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register2 listings, 16.3 per 10,000 residents · typical MO town 2.4 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 87%
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 Greenfield’s 16.3 sits above most of its state (79% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±6.8 points). Two sources give 1841.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Greenfield’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Greenfield are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1885 to 1900, drew every building in Greenfield.Deep rootsEstablished in 1841: 185 years of Greenfield.Old housesHalf of Greenfield’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Greenfield’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Greenfield’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
Every building

Greenfield, building by building, 1885–1900

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.

Greenfield fire insurance map, 1885, sheet 11885Sheet 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.

Timeline

Greenfield, 1841 to 1956

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1841
    FoundingGreenfield is established
  3. 1850Post officeThe Greenfield post office opens
  4. 1878Born hereEdward Harrison DeArmond is born here
  5. 1878Born hereIda V. Wells is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1900BuiltWashington Hotel is built
  8. 1903Born hereCurt Davis is born here
  9. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Greenfield came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Greenfield.

Read it all →

Greenfield was laid out in 1841, and named for the greenery of the original town site. A post office called Greenfield has been in operation since 1850.

The Greenfield square is lined with buildings built in the 1880s out of bricks made in the Greenfield Brickyard. The Greenfield Opera House Building, which opened in 1888, is known as the "Jewel of the Square" and is still used for the summer productions of the Dade County Community Theater. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places along with the now leveled Washington Hotel.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Greenfield, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Dade County MO Courthouse 20150715-82412015Dade County MO Courthouse 20150715-8241
On the map

Greenfield on the map, 1956 to 1981

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

Greenfield on the 1956 USGS mapGreenfield on the 1981 USGS map1956Greenfield sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Greenfield.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Greenfield

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1998
Greenfield Opera House Building
Greenfield Opera House BuildingWashington Hotel, built 1900
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian1
Italianate1
Two-Part Commercial block1
Greenfield Opera House BuildingLate Victorian
All 2 listings
Washington HotelBuilding · listed 2002

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

People over time

Greenfield, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,600190019502000Peak: 1,440

Between 228 and 1,440 people in every census since 1860.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Greenfield

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

See all →
Curt DavisAmerican baseball player · b. 1903
Edward Harrison DeArmondUnited States Army general · b. 1878
I
Ida V. WellsAmerican lawyer · b. 1878

Questions about Greenfield’s history

What year was Greenfield founded?

In 1841, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Greenfield’s post office opened in 1850, and the census of 1860 counted 228 people here.

How does Greenfield rank for history?

Greenfield is more historic than 87% 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 Greenfield?

Two places: the Greenfield Opera House Building (listed 1998) and the Washington Hotel (2002).

How old are the homes in Greenfield?

24% of Greenfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.8 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1960.

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 (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.