More historic than 18% of U.S. towns · #207 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
Most of Holts Summit was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. Below: maps from 1939 on and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Holts Summit post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Holts Summit’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Holts Summit is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #207 of 247 in Missouri. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Holts Summit’s overall grade.
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 Holts Summit’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 D to C−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Holts Summit’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Most of the pioneers in the early settlements were from the state of Virginia. One among them was Abner Holt who with his family traveled to Howard County, Missouri, in 1819. They settled there for the winter. The men built a house in Callaway County in the unnamed community now known as Holts Summit, and the family settled in during the spring.
In 1870, Holt's grandson, Timothy Holt, plotted Holts Summit around a general store built by his father James Holt. They named the village “Holts Summit” because it was the highest point from there to the Missouri River.
Holts Summit’s post office has been open since 1869.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Lake Mykee Town
1cemetery inside Holts Summit
Stokes
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Holts Summit’s history
What year was Holts Summit founded?
The Holts Summit post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Holts Summit rank for history?
Holts Summit is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #207 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 Holts Summit?
3% of Holts Summit’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.6 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 2002.
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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
