Macon dates to 1856, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 65% of U.S. towns · #80 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Macon County Courthouse and Annex, the Blees Military Academy and the Wardell House. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1860.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1856.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Macon’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Macon is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #80 of 247 in Missouri. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Macon’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 Macon’s 11.0 sits above most of its state (73% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% 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 (±5.1 points). Two sources give 1856.
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 Macon’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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 year, then a sheet.
Macon was platted in 1856. Like the county itself, Macon was named for Nathaniel Macon. A post office called "Macon City" was established in 1856, and the name was changed to Macon in 1892.
The Western Baptist Bible College opened its two-story Macon campus in January 1892, having previously been established in Independence, Missouri. The college considers itself to be the "oldest African American school west of the Mississippi River". It continued operations in Macon until it was finally relocated to its present-day campus at the Ridge Estate in Kansas City, in September 1920.
Passages that mention Macon, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Randolph and Macon counties, Missouri1884 · page 867Read the page →
Read the text
[Prom Macon Times, July 20, 1883.] At a meeting of the old settlers of Macon county held at the courthouse in Macon City, May 26, 1883, it was unanimously agreed to hold a general reunion of the old pioneers of Macon county at Steele's Park, Macon City, Mo., on Saturday, the first day of September next.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Randolph and Macon counties, Missouri1884 · page 1177Read the page →
Read the text
He founded the town of Girard and opened the first store established at that place. He came to Macon in 1865 and subsequently located on a farm about four miles north of Macon City. He died there early in 1883. He had for years been one of the prominent and active men of the county and was highly esteemed. John T., born at Girard, June 30, 1850, spent his early years mostly at school. At the age of 17 he entered McGee College from which he graduated with distinction in 1874 in a large class, includinof R. G. Mitchell of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
General history of Macon County, Missouri1910 · page 121Read the page →
Read the text
The town of Lingo, a few miles west of New Cambria, on the Burlington railroad, was founded in 1873 by Thomas and George Jobson, botli of whom yet live in Macon county. The Jobsons were farmer boys, but they had been interested in railroad work, and had noticed that the railroad company was abandoning the use of wood and depending almost exclusively on coal in its locomotives. The place which they called Lingo, in honor of Judge Samuel Lingo, member of an early county court, was originally known as "Peabody's Woodyard."
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
General history of Macon County, Missouri1910 · page 226Read the page →
Read the text
"No judgment, nor levy of the execution issued thereon shall be a lien upon any real estate of said Macon county until a duly certified abstract of such judgment shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the Circuit Court of Macon county, at Macon City; but thereafter shall have the same force and effect as though judgment had been rendered in the Macon Circuit Court at Macon City, and the execution issued thereon.
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.
Timeline
Macon, 1856 to 1988
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Macon, census by census
Between 837 and 5,680 people in every census since 1860.
17 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Macon’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds
Macon’s post office has been open since 1892. Another post office, Macon City, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Macon City
1856–1892
Macon
1892–today
18501940today
Gone or out of use
Fort BleesmilitaryWardell Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Macon
East WoodlawnOakwoodSaint MarysWoodlawn
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Macon’s history
What year was Macon founded?
In 1856, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Macon’s post office opened in 1856, and the census of 1860 counted 837 people here.
How does Macon rank for history?
Macon is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #80 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 Macon?
Three places: the Macon County Courthouse and Annex (listed 1978), the Blees Military Academy (1979) and the Wardell House (1986).
How old are the homes in Macon?
19% of Macon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1970.
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 (10), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
![[Prom Macon Times, July 20, 1883.] At a meeting of the old settlers of Macon county held at the courthouse in Macon City, May 26, 1883, it was unanimously agreed to hold a general reunion of the old pioneers of Macon county at Steele's Park, Macon City, Mo., on Saturday, the first day of September …](https://images.townratings.com/story/10087/bk-a139a6a9e0d31871-l.jpg)
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