History · Normandy

Normandy dates to 1812, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 87% of U.S. towns · #22 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 83 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1933 on, and the census since 1880.

1812founded

3on the National Register

13%homes built before 1940

3old photos & papers

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Normandy’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Normandy began

When was Normandy founded?

1812

Normandy dates its founding to 1812 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 199 in 18802020 census: 4,287214 years

How historic is Normandy?

More historic than 87% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1857.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Normandy’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Normandy is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns, #22 of 247 in Missouri. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Normandy’s overall grade.

Founding era1812, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA⁻Homes built before 194013.0% of homes (±8.6) · typical MO town 8.4% · U.S. 8.4%B⁻National Register3 listings, 85 historic buildings, 201 per 10,000 residents · typical MO town 2.4 · U.S. 2.4A

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 87%

NewerOlder

Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 91%

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 Normandy’s 201 sits above most of its state (95% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 85 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1812.

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 (±8.6 points).

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 Normandy’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Glen Echo Historic District takes in 83 historic buildings.Boom and bustPeaked at 6,236 in 1970; 4,287 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsEstablished in 1812: 214 years of Normandy.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Normandy’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Retake an old viewPaul Brown Jr. Residence. Glen Echo Par…: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

On the National Register

3 listings protect 85 historic buildings

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

places listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1980

Wilson Price Hunt House

BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Colonial Revival2

Chateauesque1

Tudor Revival1

Bungalow/Craftsman1

Ranch Style1

Wilson Price Hunt HouseColonial Revival

St. Vincent's HospitalChateauesque · Built 1858

All 3 listings

Glen Echo Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2007

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

People over time

Normandy, census by census

Peaked at 6,236 in 1970; 4,287 people lived here in 2020.

9 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Normandy came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Normandy.

Read it all →

The city of Normandy is on land once owned by Charles Lucas. Lucas obtained property from the federal government with land grants, and he purchased the land from victims of the New Madrid earthquake of 1811. He named it for the French coastal region of Normandy from which his father John Baptiste Charles Lucas came. The site of his home is now on the property of Incarnate Word Academy.

Lucas was to fight two duels on Bloody Island with Thomas Hart Benton, and died in the 1817 duel.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Normandy, 1812 to 1970

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

19th century
1812
FoundingNormandy is established
1857Post officeThe Normandy post office opens
1858BuiltSt. Vincent's Hospital is built
1875In the archiveBroadside- $20 Reward! for Thief or Goods! or $30 for both, February 17, 1875
20th century
1907In the archivePaul Brown Jr. Residence. Glen Echo Park, Normandy, Missouri. J.L. Howard, Architect
1930In the archiveMemorial Park Cemetery, Normandy 20, Mo (82109)
1932Post officeThe Normandy post office closes
1933On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1970CensusPopulation peaks at 6,236

By decade

Normandy, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1930s3 items

Broadside- $20 Reward! for Thief or Goods! or $30 for both, February 17, 1875

1875Broadside- $20 Reward! for Thief or Goods! or $30 for…Document

Paul Brown Jr. Residence. Glen Echo Park, Normandy, Missouri. J.L. Howard, Architect

1907Paul Brown Jr. Residence. Glen Echo Park, Normandy, M…

c. 1930Memorial Park Cemetery, Normandy 20, Mo (82109)

1940s–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

Today9 recent

2016Bus Only

2016Bench

2016Apartments in

2012Glen Echo Country Club

2004MOMap-doton-Normandy

On the map

Normandy on the map, 1933 to 1993

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

1933Clayton 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 Normandy.

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 viewPaul Brown Jr. Residence. Glen Echo Park, Normandy, Missouri. J.L. Howard, Architect, 1907

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

Retake this view · +15

Places that used to be

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

Normandy had its own post office from 1857 to 1932.

Normandy

1857–1932

18501940today

Hamlets and corners on the map

Berdell HillsGlen Echo ParkNorwood Court

Gone or out of use

Old Normandy Hospitalhospital

1cemetery inside Normandy

Saint Peters

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Cool ValleyIts storyC Bellerive AcresIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Bel-NorIts storyB Pasadena ParkIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Pasadena HillsIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Norwood CourtIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Ferguson5 historic placesB⁺Velda CityIts storyB Hillsdale1 historic placeA WellstonIts storyB⁻

Questions about Normandy’s history

What year was Normandy founded?

In 1812, according to Wikidata. Normandy’s post office opened in 1857, and the census of 1880 counted 199 people here.

How does Normandy rank for history?

Normandy is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns, #22 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 Normandy?

Three places: the Wilson Price Hunt House (listed 1980), the St. Vincent's Hospital (1982) and the Glen Echo Historic District (2007).

How old are the homes in Normandy?

13% of Normandy’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.6 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1959.

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 (3), Wikipedia, 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.

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