Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: old-book passages.
The Higbee post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name.
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 Higbee’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Higbee.
The first settlement at Higbee was made in 1872. A post office called Higbee has been in operation since 1873. The community has the name of Joseph Higbee, a pioneer settler.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Higbee, cut from the printed page as they were published.
hall, did his own cooking, washing and sewing, as well as the necessary farm work, but on account of ill health, he left the farm in 1876 and took a trip to Texas. Upon his return in 1877, Mr. Rennolds came to Higbee and ' with his brother, John M., he built the first house in Higbee before the town site was platted and from that time to the present has been the leading financial and business figure of the town.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The name of James Higbee, a worthy citizen of Moniteau, now deceased, gave the title to the station which has grown into a lively, progressive and thriving town. Higbee is situated about three miles north of Howard County line, at the crossing of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas and the Chicago and Alton Railroads. It possesses good facilities for shipping second to no place in North Missouri. It stands on an open ridge two miles wide, between the Moniteau and Bonne Femme creeks.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
The Higbee post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
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 Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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