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History · Keytesville

Keytesville dates to 1830, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Redding-Hill House, the First Presbyterian Church and the Chariton County Jail and Sheriff's Residence. Below: 2 old photos and papers from 1865 on.

1830founded
3on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Keytesville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Keytesville began

When was Keytesville founded?

1830

Keytesville dates its founding to 1830 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1831.

2020 census: 440196 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1831.The full story ↓

What stands out about Keytesville’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1830: 196 years of Keytesville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Keytesville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Keytesville’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewKeytesville as seen from the Champlin P…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Keytesville, 1830 to 1911

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1830
    FoundingKeytesville is established
  3. 1831Post officeThe Keytesville post office opens
  4. 1865In the archiveKeytesville as seen from the Champlin Place
  5. 1898Born hereJohn Caskie Collet is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1901Born hereMaxwell D. Taylor is born here
  8. 1911Born hereJane Hadley Barkley is born here
The story

How Keytesville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Keytesville.

Read it all →

The town is named for James Keyte, an Englishman and Methodist preacher who purchased a large parcel of land in 1830 and, two years later, donated fifty acres of it to Chariton County to establish a seat of county government. Until then, county business had been conducted from "Old Chariton," a village near the confluence of the Chariton and Missouri Rivers that was plagued by disease-spreading mosquitoes and subject to repeated flooding.

James Keyte constructed the first home in Keytesville, and the first business as well. Both were log structures, with the second doubling as a post office. Keyte also created the town's first industry when he constructed a mill near his home on Mussel Fork Creek.

ChaptersConfederate raidLate 19th centuryKeytesville today

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Keytesville, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s2 items
Keytesville as seen from the Champlin Placec. 1865Keytesville as seen from the Champlin PlaceKeytesville as seen from the Champlin Placec. 1865Keytesville as seen from the Champlin Place
Today4 recent
KeytesvilleMo32012KeytesvilleMo3KeytesvilleMo22012KeytesvilleMo2KeytesvilleMo12012KeytesvilleMo1CharitonCoCourthouse2012CharitonCoCourthouse
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Keytesville as seen from the Champlin Place
Retake this viewKeytesville as seen from the Champlin Place, c. 1865

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Keytesville’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Keytesville

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1969
Redding-Hill House
Redding-Hill HouseFirst Presbyterian ChurchChariton County Jail and Sheriff's Residence
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Classic Revival1
Queen Anne1
Redding-Hill HouseBuilding
First Presbyterian ChurchClassic Revival
Chariton County Jail and Sheriff's ResidenceQueen Anne

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Keytesville

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

See all →
Maxwell D. TaylorAmerican military officer and diplomat · b. 1901
Jane Hadley BarkleySecond Lady of the United States from 1949 to 1… · b. 1911
J
John Caskie ColletUnited States federal judge · b. 1898
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Keytesville Township3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBowling Green Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Keytesville’s history

What year was Keytesville founded?

In 1830, according to Wikidata. Keytesville’s post office opened in 1831.

What is on the National Register in Keytesville?

Three places: the Redding-Hill House (listed 1969), the First Presbyterian Church (1977) and the Chariton County Jail and Sheriff's Residence (1997).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.