On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Marshall is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #36 of 247 in Missouri. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Marshall’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 Marshall’s 5.1 sits near the middle of its state (65% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% 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 (±3.8 points). Two sources give 1839.
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 Marshall’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.
Sixty-five acres (26 ha) of land for the city of Marshall was donated by Jeremiah O’Dell, deeded on April 13, 1839. It was named for the United States Supreme Court Chief Justice, John Marshall, when chosen for the county seat. After the first two courthouses in Marshall were lost to fires, the Saline County Courthouse was constructed in January 1882; it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. The courthouse is an enduring landmark in the center of the Marshall Square, and a legacy of Nineteenth-Century architecture.
Passages that mention Marshall, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Saline County, Missouri, carefully written and compiled from the most authentic official and private sources ... with a condensed history of Missouri1881 · page 525Read the page →
Read the text
The history of Marshall township is so largely blended with that of the county in general that no separate mention of it need here be made. As soon as the county seat was permanently located at the town of Marshall, the township began to settle up rapidly, and even before 1839, many of the best tracts of land were occupied.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Saline County, Missouri, carefully written and compiled from the most authentic official and private sources ... with a condensed history of Missouri1881 · page 393Read the page →
Read the text
Tuesday night, March 26, "Dog Row," the west side of the public square, Marshall, was nearly destroyed by fire. The first building on the north end of the row was the first house erected in Marshall, by Henry Simmons, in 1836. One near by, of logs, was built by Jerry Odell, in 1837.
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.
By decade
Marshall, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
In 1839, according to Wikidata. Marshall’s post office opened in 1840, and the census of 1880 counted 2,701 people here.
How does Marshall rank for history?
Marshall is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #36 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 Marshall?
6 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Saline County Courthouse (listed 1977, the first). 7 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Marshall?
17% of Marshall’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.8 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 (9), Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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.
![Marshall, Saline County, Missouri in the war. Twenty [African American] men left for Camp Funston](https://images.townratings.com/story/10131/51851be4a891e76f400e-s.jpg)
1918![Marshall, Saline County, Missouri in the war. Forty-nine [African American] men who left for Camp](https://images.townratings.com/story/10131/d1abd49cd77d4d0341e1-s.jpg)
1919![Marshall, Saline County, Missouri in the war. Twelve [African American] men who left for Camp Funs](https://images.townratings.com/story/10131/8b97e4da73f1c9b6c25f-s.jpg)
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