Pacific dates to 1820, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 59% of U.S. towns · #97 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
Most of Pacific was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Its Register listing is the Red Cedar Inn. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1860.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1854.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Pacific’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pacific is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #97 of 247 in Missouri. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pacific’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 Pacific’s 2.7 sits near the middle of its state (56% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1820.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.3 points).
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Pacific’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
Throughout the early 19th century, the area that would eventually become Pacific slowly developed, with the first log cabin being constructed in 1820 and a covered bridge across the nearby Meramec River being constructed in 1838.
The Town of Franklin, Missouri was platted in 1852 by Major William C. Inks. The following year, the Pacific Railroad laid tracks in the town, and the railroad opened on July 19, 1853. A post office was opened in 1854, and has continuously operated since. The first city school was constructed in 1855.
In 1859, Franklin was incorporated as a fourth-class city and, in honor of the railroad, changed its name to Pacific.
Passages that mention Pacific, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The overland stage to California. Personal reminiscences and authentic history of the great Overland Stage Line and Pony Express from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean1901 · page 447Read the page →
Read the text
" Holladay sold out the line in 1866 to Wells, Fargo & Co., who continued to run the main line until the Pacific railroad was finished; dropping off from station to station as the road was finished from either end, until 1869, when the completed lines met in Utah. The lines to Montana and Idaho were continued about ten years longer, until the routes were covered by railroadtracks. Wells, Fargo & Co. still continue to run routes through the mountains, but the glamour and zest of the olden times have passed, and the heroes who made the plains awaken to the life and light of civilization
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The overland stage to California. Personal reminiscences and authentic history of the great Overland Stage Line and Pony Express from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean1901 · page 215Read the page →
Read the text
Across the Platte, a few miles from the old stage station and the company's depot of supplies, a new town was laid out in the later '60's and christened the same name — Julesburg — when the Union Pacific railroad reached there. It was a "red-hot" frontier town, made up largely of tents and rough board shanties. In its palmy days it boasted several thousand inhabitants, large numbers of saloons, gambling-houses, and dance-halls. The town was short-lived. Lots at one time sold as high as §1000 apiece.
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.
By decade
Pacific, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
In 1820, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Pacific’s post office opened in 1854, and the census of 1860 counted 437 people here.
How does Pacific rank for history?
Pacific is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #97 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 Pacific?
One place: the Red Cedar Inn (listed 2003).
How old are the homes in Pacific?
5% of Pacific’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.3 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1985.
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 (23), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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, 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.
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