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History · Pilot Knob

Pilot Knob’s post office opened in 1858, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Fort Davidson and the Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1945 on, and the census since 1860.

1858first post office
2on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Pilot Knob’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Pilot Knob began

When was Pilot Knob founded?

1858

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

First census: 302 in 18602020 census: 671168 years
Founding year: the first Pilot Knob post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Pilot Knob’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,359 in 1880; 671 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pilot Knob’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pilot Knob’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewGeneral Order, No. 15, of Geo. A. Hollo…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Pilot Knob, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,400190019502000Peak: 1,359

Peaked at 1,359 in 1880; 671 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

The story

How Pilot Knob came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pilot Knob.

Read it all →

Pilot Knob was platted in 1858. The city was named after the Pilot Knob mountain nearby, which served as a navigational landmark or "pilot" to hunters and travelers. A post office called Pilot Knob has been in operation since 1858.

The Battle of Pilot Knob in the fall of 1864 was a notable clash in the area during the Civil War. A museum near the battle site is dedicated to this event.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Pilot Knob, 1858 to 1945

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858Post officeThe Pilot Knob post office opens
  3. 1863In the archiveGeneral Order, No. 15, of Geo. A. Holloway, signed Clinton B. Fisk, Headquarters, Distric…
  4. 1880CensusPopulation peaks at 1,359
  5. 20th century
  6. 1945On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Pilot Knob, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s2 items
General Order, No. 15, of Geo. A. Holloway, signed Clinton B. Fisk, Headquarters, District of South-East Missouri, Pilo…1863General Order, No. 15, of Geo. A. Holloway, signed Cl…Pilot Knob1865Pilot Knob
Today3 recent
Fort Davidson Hotel2026Fort Davidson HotelImmanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church2017Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran ChurchMOMap-doton-Pilot Knob2004MOMap-doton-Pilot Knob
On the map

Pilot Knob on the map, 1945 to 1968

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

Pilot Knob on the 1945 USGS mapPilot Knob on the 1953 USGS mapPilot Knob on the 1968 USGS map1945Ironton 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 Pilot Knob.

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.

General Order, No. 15, of Geo. A. Holloway, signed Clinton B. Fisk, Headquarters, District of South-East Missouri, Pilo…
Retake this viewGeneral Order, No. 15, of Geo. A. Holloway, signed Clinton B. Fisk, Headquarters, District of South-East Missouri, Pilo…, 1863

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Pilot Knob

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1970
Fort Davidson
Fort DavidsonImmanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church
BuildingsSites
Fort DavidsonSite
Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran ChurchBuilding

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Pilot Knob

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

See all →
Patrick WilliamsAmerican composer, arranger, and conductor who … · b. 1939
C
Chris CarrAmerican basketball player · b. 1974
H
Herbert AsburyAmerican journalist · b. 1889
R
Robert Moore WilliamsAmerican writer · b. 1907
Charles E. SebastianAmerican mayor · b. 1873
Andrew Conway IvyAmerican physician · b. 1893
Places that used to be

Old corners

Pilot Knob’s post office has been open since 1858.

Hamlets and corners on the map
English Town

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Ironton3 historic placesB+

Questions about Pilot Knob’s history

What year was Pilot Knob founded?

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

What is on the National Register in Pilot Knob?

Two places: the Fort Davidson (listed 1970) and the Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church (1979).

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 Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.