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Jeffersonian Lane (40305067093)Photo: Paul Sableman from St. Louis, MO · CC BY 2.0
C+History
History · Mehlville

Mehlville’s post office opened in 1876, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 37% of U.S. towns · #151 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 19 buildings. Most of Mehlville was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1969. Below: maps from 1933 on and the census since 1990.

1876first post office
1on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Paul Sableman from St. Louis, MO · CC BY 2.0
Quick answers

How Mehlville began

When was Mehlville founded?

1876

The Mehlville post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Mattese (1853), Mattis (1876) and Koch (1910), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 27,557 in 19902020 census: 28,955150 years

How historic is Mehlville?

C+

More historic than 37% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Mehlville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Mehlville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mehlville is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #151 of 247 in Missouri. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mehlville’s overall grade.
Founding era1876, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.3% of homes (±0.7) · typical MO town 8.4% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register1 listing, 19 historic buildings, 6.4 per 10,000 residents · typical MO town 2.4 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 37%
NewerOlder
Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 39%

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 Mehlville’s 6.4 sits above most of its state (68% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 19 historic buildings outnumber those of 79% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Mehlville’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Mehlville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Mehlville, and 2 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mehlville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mehlville’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Mehlville had its own post office from 1876 to 1904. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Mattese
1853–1907
Mattis
1876–1876
Mehlville
1876–1904
Koch
1910–1978
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
KochMattese
Gone or out of use
Koch HospitalhospitalLe Maylocale
1cemetery inside Mehlville
New Saint Johns

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story so far

Mehlville, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Mehlville yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Mehlville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in south St. Louis County, Missouri, United States, an area locally known as "South County". It is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis, and part of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area.

Its first post office opened in 1876. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 28,380 to 28,955 (+2%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Mehlville, 1853 to 1933

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1853Post officeThe Mattese post office opens
  3. 1876Post officeThe Mattis post office opens
  4. 1876Post officeThe Mattis post office closes
  5. 1876Post officeThe Mehlville post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1904Post officeThe Mehlville post office closes
  8. 1907Post officeThe Mattese post office closes
  9. 1933On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Mehlville, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Interstate 55 at Lindbergh Blvd, Interstate 270 & I-255 exits - Mehlville, Missouri, 20002013Interstate 55 at Lindbergh Blvd, Interstate 270 & I-2…Interstate 55 at Lindbergh Blvd, Interstate 255 & I-270 exits - Mehlville, Missouri, 19992013Interstate 55 at Lindbergh Blvd, Interstate 255 & I-2…Interstate 55 approaches Lindbergh Blvd, Interstate 255 & I-270 exits - Mehlville, Missouri, 19992013Interstate 55 approaches Lindbergh Blvd, Interstate 2…Interstate 255 & US 50 at Koch Rd Exit, Mehlville, Missouri, 20002013Interstate 255 & US 50 at Koch Rd Exit, Mehlville, Mi…Home Quarters2012Home QuartersHome Quarters2012Home QuartersHome Quarters2012Home QuartersMOMap-doton-Mehlville2004MOMap-doton-MehlvilleInterstate 55 North at Exit 195, Butler Hill Rd exit (2004)2004Interstate 55 North at Exit 195, Butler Hill Rd exit …Interstate 55 North at Exit 193, Meramec Bottom Rd exit (2004)2004Interstate 55 North at Exit 193, Meramec Bottom Rd ex…Interstate 55 North approaches Meramec Bottom Rd exit (2004)2004Interstate 55 North approaches Meramec Bottom Rd exit…Interstate 55 North approaches Butler Hill Rd exit (2004)2004Interstate 55 North approaches Butler Hill Rd exit (2…
On the map

Mehlville on the map, 1933 to 1993

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

Mehlville on the 1933 USGS mapMehlville on the 1941 USGS mapMehlville on the 1954 USGS mapMehlville on the 1968 USGS mapMehlville on the 1974 USGS mapMehlville on the 1993 USGS map1933Jefferson Barracks sheet · 1:24,000

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

On the National Register

1 listing protects 19 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
19
each building in a district counts
first listed
1984
Koch, Robert, Hospital
Koch, Robert, Hospital
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Italian Romanesque1
Italian Renaissance1
All 1 listings
Koch, Robert, HospitalDistrict · listed 1984

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

People over time

Mehlville, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00020002020Peak: 28,955

Between 27,557 and 28,955 people in every census since 1990.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Mehlville

Nobody well known was born in Mehlville itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
J
John GoodmanAmerican actor · b. 1952
Matt BomerAmerican actor · b. 1977
Marianne MooreAmerican poet · b. 1887
E
Edward T. HallAmerican anthropologist · b. 1914
SlayyyterAmerican singer and songwriter · b. 1996
J
Josephine JohnsonAmerican novelist, nature writer, poet · b. 1910
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Oakville1 historic placeB−Green ParkIts storyD−Lemay2 historic placesA−Concord1 historic placeC−Affton3 historic placesB

Questions about Mehlville’s history

What year was Mehlville founded?

The Mehlville post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Mehlville rank for history?

Mehlville is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #151 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 Mehlville?

One place: the Koch, Robert, Hospital (listed 1984).

How old are the homes in Mehlville?

1% of Mehlville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1969.

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.