More historic than 13% of U.S. towns · #230 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
Most of Olivette was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1960. Below: maps from 1985 on and the census since 1940.
The Olivette post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Central (1851), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 987 in 19402020 census: 8,504118 years
How historic is Olivette?
D
More historic than 13% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Olivette post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Olivette’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Olivette is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #230 of 247 in Missouri. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Olivette’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 Olivette’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.1 points). 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 Olivette’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Olivette was settled in the mid-19th century as a small farming community along an old Indian trail originally called the Bonhomme Road (now known as Old Bonhomme, which meets and essentially turns into Olive Boulevard). Olive Road is a ridge road and at one time served as a de facto boundary for housing segregation in outer St. Louis.
The first brick schoolhouse in St. Louis County was built in the 1850s at the corner of Price and Old Bonhomme in Olivette. Logos High School is built on the former grounds of the schoolhouse.
The Olivette post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Olivette rank for history?
Olivette is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #230 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.
How old are the homes in Olivette?
7% of Olivette’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1960.
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 (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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