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CHistory
History · O'Fallon

O'Fallon dates to 1856, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 30% of U.S. towns · #169 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it

Most of O'Fallon was built recently: 0.8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2000. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 11 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1954 on, and the census since 1880.

1856founded
3on the National Register
0.8%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
12famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From O'Fallon’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How O'Fallon began

When was O'Fallon founded?

1856

O'Fallon dates its founding to 1856 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 295 in 18802020 census: 91,316170 years

How historic is O'Fallon?

C

More historic than 30% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1859.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives O'Fallon’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, O'Fallon is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #169 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 O'Fallon’s overall grade.
Founding era1856, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.8% of homes (±0.3) · typical MO town 8.4% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register3 listings, 12 historic buildings, 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 30%
NewerOlder
Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 32%

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 O'Fallon’s 1.3 sits near the middle of its state (49% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 12 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share (±0.3 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1856.

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 O'Fallon’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Famous sons and daughtersJosh Sargent, Megan Meier and 10 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start O'Fallon’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how O'Fallon’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewJacob Zumwalt Log Cabin: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people

12 famous people were born in O'Fallon

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

See all →
Josh SargentAmerican soccer player · b. 2000
M
Megan MeierSuicide on October 17, 2006 · b. 1992
Jincy RoeseAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1997
T
Ted VincentAmerican football player · b. 1956
A
Adam BeaudryAmerican soccer player · b. 2006
Clint WattsResearch fellow at the Foreign Policy Research …
The story

How O'Fallon came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of O'Fallon.

Read it all →

O'Fallon was founded in 1856 by Nicholas Krekel. The community was named by Krekel's older brother, Judge Arnold Krekel, after John O'Fallon, the president of the North Missouri Railroad. A post office called O'Fallon has been in operation since 1859 with Nicholas Krekel as first postmaster. The St. Mary's Institute of O'Fallon was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

In 2006, Money magazine named O'Fallon 39th in its "Best 100 Places to Live". The magazine also ranked O'Fallon 68th out of 100 in 2008, 26th out of 100 in 2010, and 42nd out of 100 in 2017.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

O'Fallon, 1856 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856
    FoundingO'Fallon is established
  3. 1859Post officeThe O'Fallon post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1956Born hereTed Vincent is born here
  7. 1992Born hereMegan Meier is born here
  8. 1997Born hereJincy Roese is born here
  9. 21st century
  10. 2000Born hereJosh Sargent is born here
By decade

O'Fallon, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Jacob Zumwalt Log CabinDate?Jacob Zumwalt Log Cabin
Today9 recent
Park Bench in O'Day Park2025Park Bench in O'Day ParkO'Fallon, Missouri2018O'Fallon, MissouriReconstructed Ft. Zumwalt 20172017Reconstructed Ft. Zumwalt 2017Papillon dog2015Papillon dogAwnings in the O'Fallon Neighborhood2013Awnings in the O'Fallon NeighborhoodFort Zumwalt North High School2009Fort Zumwalt North High SchoolT.R. Hughes Ballpark2008T.R. Hughes BallparkPalin speaking missouri2008Palin speaking missouriSarah Palin Signing Autograph2008Sarah Palin Signing AutographDocument
On the map

O'Fallon on the map, 1954 to 2002

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

O'Fallon on the 1954 USGS mapO'Fallon on the 1968 USGS mapO'Fallon on the 1974 USGS mapO'Fallon on the 1994 USGS mapO'Fallon on the 2002 USGS map1954OFallon 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 O'Fallon.

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.

Jacob Zumwalt Log Cabin
Retake this viewJacob Zumwalt Log Cabin

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 listings protect 12 historic buildings

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
12
each building in a district counts
first listed
2007
St. Mary's Institute of O'Fallon
St. Mary's Institute of O'FallonSage Chapel CemeteryWesthoff Grain and Mercantile Company
BuildingsDistrictsSites

Architectural styles listings

Gothic1
Colonial Revival1
One-Story Maintenance1
Two-Story Residence1
St. Mary's Institute of O'FallonGothic
All 3 listings
Sage Chapel CemeterySite · listed 2018Westhoff Grain and Mercantile CompanyBuilding · listed 2025

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

People over time

O'Fallon, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,000100,0001880190019201940196019802000202091,316

Grew from 295 people in 1880 to 91,316 in 2020, more than tenfold.

12 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

O'Fallon’s post office has been open since 1859.

Gone or out of use
Cool Springs SchoolschoolLea Ridge SchoolschoolPond FortmilitaryStrutman Fieldairport
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside O'Fallon
AssumptionMount ZionSage ChapelSisters of the Most Precious Blood

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.

Dardenne PrairieIts storyD−Lake St. LouisIts storyD−St. PaulIts storyC−St. PetersIts storyCCottlevilleIts storyCWeldon SpringIts storyC−JosephvilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWentzville1 historic placeC−

Questions about O'Fallon’s history

What year was O'Fallon founded?

In 1856, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. O'Fallon’s post office opened in 1859, and the census of 1880 counted 295 people here.

How does O'Fallon rank for history?

O'Fallon is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #169 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 O'Fallon?

Three places: the St. Mary's Institute of O'Fallon (listed 2007), the Sage Chapel Cemetery (2018) and the Westhoff Grain and Mercantile Company (2025).

How old are the homes in O'Fallon?

0.8% of O'Fallon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 2000.

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 (9), 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) 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.