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History · Paradise

Paradise’s post office opened in 1858, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1914 on.

1858first post office
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Paradise’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Paradise began

When was Paradise founded?

1858

The Paradise post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 75168 years
Founding year: the first Paradise post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Paradise’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.On the map since 19144 editions of the USGS map, 1914 to 1975. Watch Paradise change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Paradise’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Paradise’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 viewParadise Road Bridge, Spanning Little P…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Paradise on the map, 1914 to 1975

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

Paradise on the 1914 USGS mapParadise on the 1951 USGS mapParadise on the 1961 USGS mapParadise on the 1975 USGS map1914Smithville sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Paradise.

The story

How Paradise came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Paradise.

Read it all →

In 1832, the US Government deeded 40 acres (16 ha) of land at this location to Mr. Pleasant Gentry. The land was sold in 1850 to John Gosney, who surveyed the land. The developing town was named "Gosneyville". Gosneyville was renamed "Paradise" circa 1884.

A post office called Paradise was established in 1858, and remained in operation until 1907. The community was so named for the many churches in town relative to its small size.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Paradise, 1858 to 1914

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858Post officeThe Paradise post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1907Post officeThe Paradise post office closes
  5. 1914On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Paradise, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Paradise Road Bridge, Spanning Little Platte RiverDate?Paradise Road Bridge, Spanning Little Platte River
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.

Paradise Road Bridge, Spanning Little Platte River
Retake this viewParadise Road Bridge, Spanning Little Platte River

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Paradise

Nobody well known was born in Paradise itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
D
Donald JuddAmerican minimalist artist · b. 1928
Jim DavisAmerican actor · b. 1909
Brenda JoyceAmerican film actress · b. 1917
Craig StevensAmerican actor · b. 1918
James C. MarshallUS Army general and engineer · b. 1897
Alex SaxonAmerican actor · b. 1987
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Paradise had its own post office from 1858 to 1907.

Paradise
1858–1907
18501940today
1cemetery inside Paradise
Paradise

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

Questions about Paradise’s history

What year was Paradise founded?

The Paradise post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.