On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lamar Township is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lamar Township’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 Lamar Township’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 C− to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.8 points). Two sources give 1852.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Lamar Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lamar Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1886Nevada sheet · 1:125,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lamar Township.
Lamar was laid out in 1856. It was named for Mirabeau B. Lamar, second president of the Republic of Texas. The city suffered multiple attacks by rebels during the Civil War.
On May 28, 1919, a 28-year-old white man, Jay Lynch, was lynched in Lamar for the murders of Barton County Sheriff John Marion Harlow Jr., and his son, Dick.
Lamar was considered to be a sundown town prior to the Civil Rights era.
Between 907 and 4,532 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lamar Township’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Places now gone and burying grounds
Gone or out of use
City View SchoolschoolFairview SchoolschoolGlendale SchoolschoolHarmony SchoolschoolMontrose SchoolschoolOzark SchoolschoolPleasant Hill SchoolschoolPrairie Rose SchoolschoolShady Grove SchoolschoolVictory SchoolschoolVictory Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lamar Township
Fair ViewNigh
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.
In 1852, according to Wikidata. Lamar Township’s post office opened in 1889, and the census of 1880 counted 907 people here.
How does Lamar Township rank for history?
Lamar Township is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns. 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 Lamar Township?
12% of Lamar Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.8 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
Date?
2021
2004