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History · Jefferson Township

Half of Jefferson Township’s homes were built after 1984

Most of Jefferson Township was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: maps from 1924 on.

0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Jefferson Township’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 Jefferson Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Jefferson Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Jefferson Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Jefferson Township’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Victoria
1851–1869
Brownsdale
1891–1906
18501940today
Gone or out of use
Alta Vista SchoolschoolBrownsdalelocaleNew Salem ChurchchurchPrairie Hall SchoolschoolPrairie Hill SchoolschoolSpring Hill SchoolschoolVictoria Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Jefferson Township
CopeMount AyrReid

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

The story so far

Jefferson Township, in brief

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

Jefferson Township is a township in Daviess County, Missouri, United States. At the 2020 census, its population was 472. Jefferson Township was established in 1840, and named after President Thomas Jefferson.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 506 to 472 (-7%).

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

Timeline

Jefferson Township, 1851 to 1924

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1851Post officeThe Victoria post office opens
  3. 1869Post officeThe Victoria post office closes
  4. 1891Post officeThe Brownsdale post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1906Post officeThe Brownsdale post office closes
  7. 1924On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Jefferson Township on the map, 1924 to 1983

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

Jefferson Township on the 1924 USGS mapJefferson Township on the 1983 USGS map1924Winston 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 Jefferson Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Jefferson Township

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

See all →
Conrad BurnsAmerican politician · b. 1935
Wild Bill ElliottAmerican actor · b. 1904
E
Edward Harrison TaylorAmerican herpetologist · b. 1889
DeWitt Clarke JenningsAmerican actor · b. 1871
Joseph I. FranceAmerican politician · b. 1873
W
Walter PageAmerican jazz musician · b. 1900
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Colfax TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMarion TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLiberty TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDallas TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAdams Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLake VikingIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Jefferson Township’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.