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B+History
History · Poplar Bluff

Poplar Bluff’s post office opened in 1850, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 67% of U.S. towns · #73 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it

21 places in town are on the National Register, among them five historic districts with 94 buildings between them. Below: 14 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1880.

1850first post office
21on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
14old photos & papers
18famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Poplar Bluff’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Poplar Bluff began

When was Poplar Bluff founded?

1850

The Poplar Bluff post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 791 in 18802020 census: 16,225176 years

How historic is Poplar Bluff?

B+

More historic than 67% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Poplar Bluff post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Poplar Bluff’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Poplar Bluff is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns, #73 of 247 in Missouri. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Poplar Bluff’s overall grade.
Founding era1850, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194012.4% of homes (±2.9) · typical MO town 8.4% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register21 listings, 110 historic buildings, 67.7 per 10,000 residents · typical MO town 2.4 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 67%
NewerOlder
Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 71%

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 Poplar Bluff’s 67.7 sits above most of its state (90% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 110 historic buildings outnumber those of 90% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Poplar Bluff’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Landmarks on the Register21 places on the National Register.A historic districtThe Cynthia-Kinzer Historic District takes in 55 historic buildings.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1892 to 1924, drew every building in Poplar Bluff.A town in old photos14 old photos, postcards and papers, 1910–1941.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

21 listings protect 110 historic buildings

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

places listed
21
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
110
each building in a district counts
first listed
1994
Butler County Courthouse
Butler County CourthouseMoore-Dalton HousePoplar Bluff Public LibrarySt. Louis-San Francisco Railroad DepotSt. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad Depot, built 1910Mark Twain SchoolAlfred W. Greer HouseJ. Herbert Moore HouseJohn Archibald Phillips House, built 1891Thomas Moore HouseWilliamson-Kennedy School, built 1922Wheatley Public SchoolRodgers Theatre BuildingWright-Dalton-Bell-Anchor Department Store BuildingWilliams-Gierth House, built 1892Garfield Historic DistrictPoplar Bluff Commercial Historic DistrictZehe BuildingSouth Sixth Street Historic DistrictNorth Main Street Historic DistrictCynthia-Kinzer Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Colonial Revival8
Classical Revival3
Queen Anne3
Bungalow/Craftsman2
Italianate2
Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival1
Butler County CourthouseClassical Revival
Moore-Dalton HouseClassical Revival
Poplar Bluff Public LibraryColonial Revival
St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad DepotMission/Spanish Colonial Revival
St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad DepotBungalow/Craftsman · Built 1910
Mark Twain SchoolClassical Revival
Alfred W. Greer HouseBungalow/Craftsman
J. Herbert Moore HouseInternational Style
All 21 listings
John Archibald Phillips HouseBuilding · listed 1998Thomas Moore HouseBuilding · listed 1998Williamson-Kennedy SchoolBuilding · listed 1998Wheatley Public SchoolBuilding · listed 1998Rodgers Theatre BuildingBuilding · listed 2001Wright-Dalton-Bell-Anchor Department Store BuildingBuilding · listed 2006Williams-Gierth HouseBuilding · listed 2012Garfield Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2017Poplar Bluff Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1994Zehe BuildingBuilding · listed 1994South Sixth Street Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1998North Main Street Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2011Cynthia-Kinzer Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2015

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

Every building

Poplar Bluff, building by building, 1892–1924

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.

Poplar Bluff fire insurance map, 1892, sheet 11892Sheet 1 of 4
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Poplar Bluff came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Poplar Bluff.

Read it all →

The French were the first Europeans to assert any territorial rights over the Poplar Bluff area. The French held the area until 1771 when it was ceded by treaty to Spain. Spain held the area until 1802 when it was returned to France. The area that would become Poplar Bluff and Butler County had no permanent European settlement until 1819, when the first white family moved into the area. It was reported that about 300 Native Americans resided in the area at that time.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Poplar Bluff, 1850 to 1987

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850Post officeThe Poplar Bluff post office opens
  3. 1891BuiltJohn Archibald Phillips House is built
  4. 1892BuiltWilliams-Gierth House is built
  5. 20th century
  6. 1907Born hereArchie League is born here
  7. 1910BuiltSt. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad Depot is built
  8. 1910In the archiveThese were the youngest white boys (there were several younger negroes) that I could find…
  9. 1920Born hereDon Martin is born here
  10. 1922BuiltWilliamson-Kennedy School is built
  11. 1930In the archiveEpps Motel, Café and Service Station, Highway 67 south Poplar Bluff, Missouri (82632)
  12. 1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1941In the archivePhotograph of Ranger's Dwelling at
  14. 1966Born hereScott Innes is born here
  15. 1987Born hereBen Hansbrough is born here
By decade

Poplar Bluff, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s11 items
These were the youngest white boys (there were several younger negroes) that I could find working in the Parker Heading…1910These were the youngest white boys (there were severa…Poplar Bluff Water Works1911Poplar Bluff Water WorksMain Street - Poplar Bluff1911Main Street - Poplar BluffFourth St - Poplar Bluff1911Fourth St - Poplar BluffPoplar Bluff, Mo. Schools1911Poplar Bluff, Mo. SchoolsMain St. - Poplar Bluff1911Main St. - Poplar BluffView of Wright Hotel1911View of Wright HotelSt. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Ry. [Railway] Station1911St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Ry. [Railway] S…I. M. R.R. [Iron Mountain Railroad] steps1911I. M. R.R. [Iron Mountain Railroad] stepsDalton Adding, Listing and Calculating Machines Building1911Dalton Adding, Listing and Calculating Machines Build…Elks home1912Elks home
1930s–1940s3 items
Epps Motel, Café and Service Station, Highway 67 south Poplar Bluff, Missouri (82632)c. 1930Epps Motel, Café and Service Station, Highway 67 sout…Cut-over land plowed under for crops near Poplar Bluff. Butler County, Missouri1936Cut-over land plowed under for crops near Poplar Bluf…Photograph of Ranger's Dwelling at1941Photograph of Ranger's Dwelling at
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Poplar Bluff on the map, 1935 to 1979

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

Poplar Bluff on the 1935 USGS mapPoplar Bluff on the 1966 USGS mapPoplar Bluff on the 1979 USGS map1935Poplar Bluff 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 Poplar Bluff.

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.

These were the youngest white boys (there were several younger negroes) that I could find working in the Parker Heading…
Retake this viewThese were the youngest white boys (there were several younger negroes) that I could find working in the Parker Heading…, 1910

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Poplar Bluff, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,00018,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 17,139

Between 791 and 17,139 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

18 famous people were born in Poplar Bluff

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
S
Scott InnesAmerican actor · b. 1966
B
Ben HansbroughAmerican basketball player · b. 1987
Archie LeagueAmerican World War II pilot · b. 1907
D
Don MartinAmerican basketball player · b. 1920
C
Charles JacoAmerican journalist · b. 1950
L
Linda Bloodworth-ThomasonAmerican writer and television producer · b. 1947
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Ashcroft AdditionCedar ValleyKelly TownLoma LindaShady DellVinegar Hill
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Poplar Bluff
Sacred Heart CatholicWoodlawn

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

Help out

Finish Poplar Bluff’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewThese were the youngest white boys (the…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Poplar Bluff’s history

What year was Poplar Bluff founded?

The Poplar Bluff post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Poplar Bluff rank for history?

Poplar Bluff is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns, #73 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 Poplar Bluff?

21 listings: 16 buildings, among them the Butler County Courthouse (listed 1994, the first), and 5 historic districts with 94 contributing buildings. 110 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Poplar Bluff?

12% of Poplar Bluff’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1972.

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 (2), the Library of Congress (12), Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (21), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.