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History · Portage Des Sioux

Portage Des Sioux dates to 1799

Most of Portage Des Sioux was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1927 on, and the census since 1860.

1799founded
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Portage Des Sioux’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Portage Des Sioux began

When was Portage Des Sioux founded?

1799

Portage Des Sioux dates its founding to 1799 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 98 in 18602020 census: 335227 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1819.

What stands out about Portage Des Sioux’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 509 in 1970; 335 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsEstablished in 1799: 227 years of Portage Des Sioux.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Portage Des Sioux’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Portage Des Sioux’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 photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewPayne House: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Portage Des Sioux, census by census

0100200300400500190019502000Peak: 509

Peaked at 509 in 1970; 335 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1860–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Portage Des Sioux’s Wikipedia page.

Timeline

Portage Des Sioux, 1799 to 1970

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1799
    FoundingPortage Des Sioux is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1819Post officeThe Portage Des Sioux post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1927On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 509
The story so far

Portage Des Sioux, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Portage Des Sioux yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Portage Des Sioux ( POR-tij duh SOO) is a city in St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The town sits on the Mississippi River roughly opposite Elsah, Illinois, and is the home of the riverside shrine of Our Lady of the Rivers. As of the 2020 census, Portage Des Sioux had a population of 335. The city was founded in 1799 by Spanish Lt. Gov. Zenon Trudeau and François Saucier in reaction to American plans to build a military post about twelve miles (19 km) downstream. The French name derives from the overland escape route between the Missouri River and Mississippi River used by a band of Sioux, fleeing enemies; they used this area as a portage for their canoes, outdistancing their riv…

Portage Des Sioux was established in 1799. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 328 to 335 (+2%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Portage Des Sioux, decade by decade

Date unknown2 to date
Payne HouseDate?Payne HouseFrame HouseDate?Frame House
Today2 recent
Portage Des Sioux Water Tower2020Portage Des Sioux Water TowerAir Guard LNOs helping out in Portage Des Sioux 160108-Z-ZZ999-0022016Air Guard LNOs helping out in Portage Des Sioux 16010…
On the map

Portage Des Sioux on the map, 1927 to 1991

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

Portage Des Sioux on the 1927 USGS mapPortage Des Sioux on the 1933 USGS mapPortage Des Sioux on the 1954 USGS mapPortage Des Sioux on the 1968 USGS mapPortage Des Sioux on the 1974 USGS mapPortage Des Sioux on the 1991 USGS map1927St Charles 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 Portage Des Sioux.

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.

Payne House
Retake this viewPayne House

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Portage Des Sioux

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

See all →
Miles DavisAmerican jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and compos… · b. 1926
Robert WadlowAmerican who was the tallest recorded person in… · b. 1918
Jeanne ShaheenUnited States Senator from New Hampshire · b. 1947
Jenifer LewisAmerican actress · b. 1957
Brad DavisAmerican soccer player · b. 1981
RicochetAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1988

Questions about Portage Des Sioux’s history

What year was Portage Des Sioux founded?

In 1799, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Portage Des Sioux’s post office opened in 1819, and the census of 1860 counted 98 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 (2), the Library of Congress (2), 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.