Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1922 on and the census since 1880.
The Otterville post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Otterville’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Otterville.
Otterville was originally called Elkton, and under the latter name was platted in 1837. The present name is after nearby Otter Creek. A post office called Otterville has been in operation since 1848.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Otterville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Otterville.— "I come now to take a brief survey of matters connected with a later date. The town of Otterville was first called Elkton. It was laid out by Gideon R. Thompson, in the 1837. The first house built, stood where Judge Butler's now stands. The public square occupied the space ground now lying between Butler's and Geo. W. Smith's, extending east to a line running north and south, near the place where Frank Ami's house formerly stood. William G. Wear entered the forty acres on which Elkton was built, in the year 1836, and sold it to Thompson in 1837.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The town of Otterville was incorporated by an act of the Legislature of Missouri, on the 16th day of Feb., 1857. About the year 1860, for a short period, a considerable wholesale business was done here. Among the wholesale establishments were the following: W. G. Wear and Son; Cloney, Crawford & Co., from Jefferson City ; Clark & Reed ; Concannon ; The Robert Brothers ; Lohman & Co., etc., etc.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
'The town of Otterville was regularly laid out by W. G. Wear in 1854, though several houses had been built previous to that time within its present limits.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
"I come now to take a brief survey of matters connected with a later date. The town of Otterville was first called Elkton. It was laid out by Gideon R. Thompson, in the year 1S37. The first house built, stood where Judge
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.
Weddings 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 Otterville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Otterville.
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 sheet.
1922Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Between 384 and 507 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Otterville’s Wikipedia page.
The Otterville post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
