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CHistory
History · Imperial

1 of Imperial’s places is on the National Register

More historic than 33% of U.S. towns · #162 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it

Most of Imperial was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Below: maps from 1912 on and the census since 2000.

1on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

About Imperial’s history

How historic is Imperial?

C

More historic than 33% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
History grade

What drives Imperial’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Imperial is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #162 of 247 in Missouri. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Imperial’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19404.2% of homes (±3.1) · typical MO town 8.4% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register1 listing, 1.8 per 10,000 residents · typical MO town 2.4 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 33%
NewerOlder
Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 35%

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 Imperial’s 1.8 sits near the middle of its state (50% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.1 points).

Founding year: our sources. 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 Imperial’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 Imperial are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19125 editions of the USGS map, 1912 to 1974. Watch Imperial change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Imperial’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Imperial’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
On the map

Imperial on the map, 1912 to 1974

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

Imperial on the 1912 USGS mapImperial on the 1948 USGS mapImperial on the 1954 USGS mapImperial on the 1968 USGS mapImperial on the 1974 USGS map1912Kimmswick 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 Imperial.

The story so far

Imperial, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Imperial yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Imperial is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson County, Missouri, United States, and is a suburb of St. Louis. The population was 4,947 at the 2020 census. Imperial was originally known as West Kimmswick, the historic Catholic church of St. John’s in Imperial, became an independent parish in 1869.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 4,709 to 4,407 (-6%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Imperial, 1837 to 1995

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1837Post officeThe Sulfur Springs post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1912On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1975Born hereNikki Ziegelmeyer is born here
  6. 1995Post officeThe Sulfur Springs post office closes
By decade

Imperial, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Imperial, Missouri2018Imperial, MissouriMOMap-doton-Imperial2004MOMap-doton-Imperial
On the National Register

1 historic place in Imperial

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
Windsor Harbor Road Bridge
Windsor Harbor Road Bridge
Structures

Architectural styles listings

Wrought Iron Span Bridge1
Windsor Harbor Road BridgeWrought Iron Span Bridge

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

People over time

Imperial, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,00020002020Peak: 4,709

Between 4,373 and 4,709 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Sulfur Springs, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Sulphur SpringsSunnyside
Gone or out of use
White Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Imperial
Saint Josephs

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

BarnhartIts storyD−ArnoldIts storyD−

Questions about Imperial’s history

How does Imperial rank for history?

Imperial is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #162 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.

What is on the National Register in Imperial?

One place: the Windsor Harbor Road Bridge (listed 1983).

How old are the homes in Imperial?

4% of Imperial’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1990.

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