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AHistory
History · Paris

Paris dates to 1831, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 89% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Paris Male Academy. Below: 1 old photo or paper and the census since 1870.

1831founded
1on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Paris’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Paris began

When was Paris founded?

1831

Paris dates its founding to 1831 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 895 in 18702020 census: 1,161195 years

How historic is Paris?

A

More historic than 89% 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: 1841.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Paris’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Paris is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Paris’ overall grade.
Founding era1831, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194039.2% of homes (±11.3) · typical MO town 8.4% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register1 listing, 6.3 per 10,000 residents · typical MO town 2.4 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 89%
NewerOlder

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 Paris’ 6.3 sits above most of its state (68% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±11.3 points). Two sources give 1831.

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 Paris’ 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.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,598 in 1980; 1,161 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsEstablished in 1831: 195 years of Paris.Old housesHalf of Paris’ homes were built before 1958.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Paris’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Paris’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 viewDaniel Johnson House, State Route 154: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Paris, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,60018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,598

Peaked at 1,598 in 1980; 1,161 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Paris’ Wikipedia page.

Timeline

Paris, 1831 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1831
    FoundingParis is established
  3. 1841Post officeThe Paris post office opens
  4. 1899Born hereMary Margaret McBride is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 1,598
The story

How Paris came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Paris.

Read it all →

Paris was platted in 1831, and named after Paris, Kentucky, the native home of one of the first settlers, Mrs. James C. Fox. James R. Abernathy was one of the first settlers in Paris in 1831. The town was laid out in 1831 by Abernathy, James C. Fox, Hightower F. Hackney, and E. W. McBride. In 1837, Paris contained seven stores and a number of families. On March 10, 1832, Abernathy and seven others organized the first Christian church in Paris. The church was built in a Gothic style of brick with four rooms at a cost of $11,000 (equivalent to $354,750 in 2025).

The Paris Male Academy and Union Covered Bridge are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Paris, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Daniel Johnson House, State Route 154Date?Daniel Johnson House, State Route 154
Today3 recent
Paris Male Academy2017Paris Male AcademyUnion Covered Bridge SHS from southeast 12011Union Covered Bridge SHS from southeast 1Monroe County Missouri Courthouse2009Monroe County Missouri Courthouse
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.

Daniel Johnson House, State Route 154
Retake this viewDaniel Johnson House, State Route 154

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Paris

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1990
Paris Male Academy
Paris Male Academy
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Paris Male AcademyGreek Revival

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

Questions about Paris’ history

What year was Paris founded?

In 1831, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Paris’ post office opened in 1841, and the census of 1870 counted 895 people here.

How does Paris rank for history?

Paris is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns. 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 Paris?

One place: the Paris Male Academy (listed 1990).

How old are the homes in Paris?

39% of Paris’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.3 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1958.

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 (3), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.