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History · Milo

Milo dates to 1881, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1933 on and the census since 1910.

1881founded
0on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Milo began

When was Milo founded?

1881

Milo dates its founding to 1881 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 128 in 19102020 census: 57145 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1883.The full story ↓

What stands out about Milo’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 Milo are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Milo’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Milo’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Milo came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Milo.

Read it all →

Milo was laid out by J.L. Samples on October 4, 1881 when the Lexington and Southern Railroad division of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, located in the northwest part of Drywood Township; created a station nearby. The community name has been tied to an early settler named Milo Main. A post office has been in operation at Milo since 1883.

Milo was a minor cattle town by which cattlemen took Texas Longhorn cattle afoot to railheads or depots to the north.

The town housed the Dale Wholesale Saddlery Company and the J.L. Truex general store which supplied cattlemen, farmers, and nearby Camp Clark in Nevada, Missouri.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Milo in 1911

Passages that mention Milo, cut from the printed page as they were published.

The village of Milo is situated in the northeastern part of Drywood township on lot 8 of the northwest quarter of section 2, and is a station on the Lexington and Southern railroad, divi¬ sion of the Missouri Pacific. It was laid out October 14, 1881, by J. L. Samples and Mary M. Samples.
History of Vernon County, Missouri1911 · page 588Read the page →
Read the text

The village of Milo is situated in the northeastern part of Drywood township on lot 8 of the northwest quarter of section 2, and is a station on the Lexington and Southern railroad, divi¬ sion of the Missouri Pacific. It was laid out October 14, 1881, by J. L. Samples and Mary M. Samples.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Milo is the proud possessor of a manufacturing plant, which for its up-to-date construction and value of output will compare favorably with plants in cities many times the size of Milo. The Dale Saddlery Company, whose goods are well and favorably known in the "West and Southwest, was incorporated …
History of Vernon County, Missouri1911 · page 589Read the page →
Read the text

Milo is the proud possessor of a manufacturing plant, which for its up-to-date construction and value of output will compare favorably with plants in cities many times the size of Milo. The Dale Saddlery Company, whose goods are well and favorably known in the "West and Southwest, was incorporated July 25, 1910. They occupy a modern brick structure fitted with every convenience for carrying on their large and growing business.

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

Milo, 1881 to 1933

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881
    FoundingMilo is established
  3. 1883Post officeThe Milo post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1933On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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On the map

Milo on the map, 1933 to 1991

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

Milo on the 1933 USGS mapMilo on the 1948 USGS mapMilo on the 1991 USGS map1933Nevada 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 Milo.

People over time

Milo, census by census

0100192019401960198020002020Peak: 134

Between 57 and 134 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Milo

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

See all →
John HustonAmerican film director, screenwriter, and actor · b. 1906
Eva BowringAmerican politician · b. 1892
C
C. Jay CoxAmerican screenwriter and director · b. 1962
C
Corwin D. EdwardsAmerican economist · b. 1901

Questions about Milo’s history

What year was Milo founded?

In 1881, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Milo’s post office opened in 1883, and the census of 1910 counted 128 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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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). How TownRatings grades history →

From 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.