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BHistory
History · Marshfield

Marshfield dates to 1830, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 62% of U.S. towns · #92 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it

Most of Marshfield was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Its Register listing is the Rainey Funeral Home Building. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1860.

1830founded
1on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Marshfield’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Marshfield began

When was Marshfield founded?

1830

Marshfield dates its founding to 1830 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 408 in 18602020 census: 7,458196 years

How historic is Marshfield?

B

More historic than 62% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1856.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Marshfield’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Marshfield is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #92 of 247 in Missouri. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Marshfield’s overall grade.
Founding era1830, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19409.6% of homes (±4.6) · typical MO town 8.4% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register1 listing, 1.3 per 10,000 residents · typical MO town 2.4 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 62%
NewerOlder
Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 63%

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 Marshfield’s 1.3 sits near the middle of its state (50% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.6 points). Two sources give 1830.

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 Marshfield’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1886 to 1910, drew every building in Marshfield.Deep rootsEstablished in 1830: 196 years of Marshfield.
★ What stands out · Every building

Marshfield, building by building, 1886–1910

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.

Marshfield fire insurance map, 1886, sheet 11886Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

Timeline

Marshfield, 1830 to 1948

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1830
    FoundingMarshfield is established
  3. 1856Post officeThe Marshfield post office opens
  4. 1880In the archiveMarshfield F4 tornado damage 01
  5. 1889Born hereEdwin Hubble is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1907Born hereJoe Haymes is born here
  8. 1946On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1948Born hereRoy Beck is born here
The story

How Marshfield came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Marshfield.

Read it all →

Marshfield was platted in 1855, taking its name from Marshfield, Massachusetts. A post office called Marshfield has been in operation since 1856. Marshfield is the county seat of Webster County and sits on land donated by William T. Burford and C.F. Dryden.

The Hosmer Dairy Farm Historic District and Rainey Funeral Home Building are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Marshfield is home to the only intersection of the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail and U.S. Route 66.

Marshfield is the hometown of Edwin Hubble. A replica of the Hubble Space Telescope can be found in front of the Webster County Court House at 100 S Clay St.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Marshfield, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s5 items
Marshfield F4 tornado damage 011880Marshfield F4 tornado damage 01Marshfield F4 tornado damage 021880Marshfield F4 tornado damage 02Marshfield F4 tornado damage 031880Marshfield F4 tornado damage 03Marshfield F4 tornado damage 041880Marshfield F4 tornado damage 04Marshfield F4 tornado damage 051880Marshfield F4 tornado damage 05
1890s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today3 recent
Marshfield Masonic Temple2017Marshfield Masonic TempleWebster County Missouri – Marshfield, Mo 4th of July Parade Celebration2012Webster County Missouri – Marshfield, Mo 4th of July …MarshfieldCarnegieLibrary2012MarshfieldCarnegieLibrary
On the map

Marshfield on the map, 1946 to 1982

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

Marshfield on the 1946 USGS mapMarshfield on the 1982 USGS map1946Niangua sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Marshfield.

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.

Marshfield F4 tornado damage 01
Retake this viewMarshfield F4 tornado damage 01, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Marshfield

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2014
Rainey Funeral Home Building
Rainey Funeral Home Building
Buildings
Rainey Funeral Home BuildingBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Marshfield, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,0001900195020007,458

Grew from 408 people in 1860 to 7,458 in 2020, more than tenfold.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Marshfield

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Edwin HubbleAmerican astronomer · b. 1889
R
Roy BeckAmerican journalist · b. 1948
J
Joe HaymesAmerican musician · b. 1907
Help out

Finish Marshfield’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMarshfield F4 tornado damage 01: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Marshfield’s history

What year was Marshfield founded?

In 1830, according to Wikidata. Marshfield’s post office opened in 1856, and the census of 1860 counted 408 people here.

How does Marshfield rank for history?

Marshfield is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #92 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 Marshfield?

One place: the Rainey Funeral Home Building (listed 2014).

How old are the homes in Marshfield?

10% of Marshfield’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 (8), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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 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.