3 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 35 buildings between them. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1850.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives New Haven’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, New Haven is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of New Haven’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 New Haven’s 112 sits above most of its state (92% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 37 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±11.2 points). Two sources give 1836.
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 New Haven’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
New Haven was originally called Miller's Landing, and under the latter name was platted in 1855. A post office called New Haven has been in operation since 1858.
The AME Church of New Haven, New Haven Commercial Historic District, New Haven Residential Historic District, Wilhelm Pelster House-Barn, and Christopher and Johanna Twelker Farm are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
One notable resident of the New Haven area was Herman Otten (b.1933, d. 2019), pastor of Trinity Lutheran for 55 years. He was the editor of Beck's American Translation and of the Christian News weekly paper.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of New Haven. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1948Washington 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 New Haven.
Every building
New Haven, building by building, 1895–1917
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.
1895Sheet 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.
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.
Retake this viewNew Haven MO - 1912, 1912
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on New Haven’s page.
Grew from 471 people in 1880 to 2,414 in 2020, 5 times over.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on New Haven’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about New Haven’s history
What year was New Haven founded?
In 1836, according to Wikidata. New Haven’s post office opened in 1850, and the census of 1880 counted 471 people here.
How does New Haven rank for history?
New Haven is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns. 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 New Haven?
Three places: the AME Church of New Haven (listed 1992), the New Haven Commercial Historic District (1999) and the New Haven Residential Historic District (1999).
How old are the homes in New Haven?
25% of New Haven’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.2 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1972.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), 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 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.
![Institutional structures by Gilbert.] [Sketches](https://images.townratings.com/story/9997/f638c987c7cc2bc66e13-s.jpg)
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