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History · Lake Township

Half of Lake Township’s homes were built after 1986

Most of Lake Township was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: maps from 1938 on.

0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Lake 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 Lake Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Lake Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lake Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lake 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, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Hong
1882–1883
Temple
1886–1905
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
HongTemple
Gone or out of use
Durham SchoolschoolHazel Dell SchoolschoolJohnson SchoolschoolLake SchoolschoolMiller SchoolschoolPrairie Dell ChurchchurchRoundtop Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lake Township
MillerTemple

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

The story so far

Lake Township, in brief

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

Lake Township is a township in Vernon County, in the U.S. state of Missouri. Lake Township most likely took its name from a small lake within its borders.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 209 to 196 (-6%).

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

Timeline

Lake Township, 1882 to 1938

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1882Post officeThe Hong post office opens
  3. 1883Post officeThe Hong post office closes
  4. 1886Post officeThe Temple post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1905Post officeThe Temple post office closes
  7. 1938On 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.
Add from your album
On the map

Lake Township on the map, 1938 to 1991

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

Lake Township on the 1938 USGS mapLake Township on the 1991 USGS map1938Metz sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lake Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Lake Township

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

See all →
John HustonAmerican film director, screenwriter, and actor · b. 1906
Gordon ParksAmerican photographer, musician, writer and fil… · b. 1912
Eva BowringAmerican politician · b. 1892
Clark CliffordAmerican secretary of defense · b. 1906
Richard ChristyAmerican drummer · b. 1974
C
C. Jay CoxAmerican screenwriter and director · b. 1962
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Washington Township1 historic placeB−Deerfield TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRichland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMetz Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Lake Township’s history

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 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.