Most of Linn was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Its Register listings are the Osage County Poorhouse and the Dr. Enoch T. and Amy Zewicki House. Its Register listings are the Osage County Poorhouse and the Dr. Enoch T. and Amy Zewicki House. Below: maps from 1942 on and the census since 1900.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1844.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Linn’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Linn is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Linn’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 Linn’s 33.4 sits above most of its state (84% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.0 points). Two sources give 1843.
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 Linn’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Linn was platted in 1843. The community was named for Senator Lewis F. Linn. A post office called Linn has been in operation since 1844. In 1866, a newspaper, the Unterrified Democrat, was established in Linn.
The Osage County Poorhouse and Dr. Enoch T. and Amy Zewicki House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Linn was formally part of neighboring Gasconade County until January 29, 1841.
accompanied by John Otis Wattles and his family. They first settled on a farm in Douglas county but in 1857 they felt the urge to be a part of the struggle to make Kansas a free state, so they moved to Linn County and settled on the prairie north of Sugar Mound. The great increase of settlers made it desirable to have the convenience of a town with a postoffice, school, stores, churches, etc., so they set about incorporating a town, taking ten acres at each of the four corners
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
In 1843, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Linn’s post office opened in 1844, and the census of 1900 counted 491 people here.
How does Linn rank for history?
Linn is more historic than 76% 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.
What is on the National Register in Linn?
Two places: the Osage County Poorhouse (listed 1998) and the Dr. Enoch T. and Amy Zewicki House (2002).
How old are the homes in Linn?
9% of Linn’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 (3), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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