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C−History
History · Lawson

Lawson dates to 1870

More historic than 25% of U.S. towns · #190 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it

Most of Lawson was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1917 on, and the census since 1880.

1870founded
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Lawson’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Lawson began

When was Lawson founded?

1870

Lawson dates its founding to 1870 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 223 in 18802020 census: 2,541156 years

How historic is Lawson?

C−

More historic than 25% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1870.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Lawson’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lawson is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #190 of 247 in Missouri. 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 Lawson’s overall grade.
Founding era1870, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19407.7% of homes (±4.6) · typical MO town 8.4% · U.S. 8.4%C+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical MO town 2.4 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 25%
NewerOlder
Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 23%

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 Lawson’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 (±4.6 points). Two sources give 1870.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Lawson’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lawson’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewWatkins Mill, County Highway MM: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Lawson came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lawson.

Read it all →

Lawson was founded in 1870 and was named for New York businessman L. M. Lawson. A post office called Lawson has been in operation since 1876.

Lawson is home to Ray County's oldest bank, Lawson Bank, founded in 1883. Interesting sites near Lawson include the historic Watkins Mill (now a Missouri state park and National Historic Landmark) and KC-10L, a Nike missile base, located a mile east of Lawson (Nov 1959 - Feb 1964).

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lawson, 1870 to 1957

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870
    FoundingLawson is established
  3. 1870Post officeThe Lawson Station post office opens
  4. 1876Post officeThe Lawson Station post office closes
  5. 1876Post officeThe Lawson post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Lawson, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Watkins Mill, County Highway MMDate?Watkins Mill, County Highway MM
Today1 recent
MOMap-doton-Lawson2004MOMap-doton-Lawson
On the map

Lawson on the map, 1957 to 1990

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

Lawson on the 1957 USGS mapLawson on the 1975 USGS mapLawson on the 1990 USGS map1957Lawson 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 Lawson.

Every building

Lawson, building by building, 1917

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Lawson fire insurance map, 1917, sheet 11917Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

Watkins Mill, County Highway MM
Retake this viewWatkins Mill, County Highway MM

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Lawson, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,500188019001920194019601980200020202,541

Grew from 223 people in 1880 to 2,541 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Lawson’s post office has been open since 1876. Another post office, Lawson Station, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Lawson Station
1870–1876
Lawson
1876–today
18701950today

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

Questions about Lawson’s history

What year was Lawson founded?

In 1870, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Lawson’s post office opened in 1870, and the census of 1880 counted 223 people here.

How does Lawson rank for history?

Lawson is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #190 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.

How old are the homes in Lawson?

8% of Lawson’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.6 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1979.

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 (1), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.