The story
Read it all →How Lemay came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Lemay.
Lemay was named after Francois Lemai, who operated a ferry boat across the Meramec River in the early 19th century.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
A−History
History · Lemay
25% of Lemay’s homes were built before 1940
More historic than 84% of U.S. towns · #30 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 4 buildings. Below: maps from 1933 on and the census since 2000.
2on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
About Lemay’s history
How historic is Lemay?
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What drives the grade ↓More historic than 84% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Lemay’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lemay is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #30 of 247 in Missouri. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lemay’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194024.5% of homes (±4.7) · typical MO town 8.4% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register2 listings, 6 historic buildings, 3.7 per 10,000 residents · typical MO town 2.4 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 84%
NewerOlder
Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 88%
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 Lemay’s 3.7 sits near the middle of its state (59% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Lemay’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Lemay’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lemay’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Lemay, 1877 to 1933
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1877Post officeThe Mount Olive post office opens
- 1885Post officeThe Mount Olive post office closes
- 20th century
- 1933
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade
Lemay, decade by decade
2018
2018
2017
2012
2010On the map
Lemay on the map, 1933 to 1993
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lemay. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1933Jefferson Barracks sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lemay.
On the National Register
2 historic places in Lemay
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
2003
Mount Hope Cemetery
DistrictsSites
Architectural styles listings
Classical Revival1
Beaux Arts Classicism1
Neo-Classical Revival1
Lawn-Park Cemetery1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Lemay, census by census
Between 16,645 and 17,215 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lemay’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Another post office, Mount Olive, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bella VillaIvory
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lemay
Mount HopeMount OliveOakdaleOdd FellowsPark LawnTrinity
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). 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.
Questions about Lemay’s history
How does Lemay rank for history?
Lemay is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #30 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.
What is on the National Register in Lemay?
Two places: the Mount Hope Cemetery (listed 2003) and the Sancta Maria in Ripa (2022).
How old are the homes in Lemay?
25% of Lemay’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1955.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (5), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.