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History · Prairie Hill

Prairie Hill’s post office opened in 1869

Below: maps from 1953 on.

1869first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Prairie Hill began

When was Prairie Hill founded?

1869

The Prairie Hill post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 50157 years
Founding year: the first Prairie Hill post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Prairie Hill’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Prairie Hill are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start Prairie Hill’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Prairie Hill’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Prairie Hill, in brief

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

Prairie Hill is an unincorporated community in eastern Chariton County, Missouri, United States. The community is located at the intersection of Missouri routes W and HH approximately seven miles north-northeast of Salisbury. The Thomas Hill Reservoir dam is seven miles (11 km) to the northeast in adjacent Randolph County. A post office called Prairie Hill was established in 1869, and remained in operation until 1966. The community was named for its elevated location upon a prairie.

Its first post office opened in 1869.

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

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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On the map

Prairie Hill on the map, 1953 to 1981

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

Prairie Hill on the 1953 USGS mapPrairie Hill on the 1979 USGS mapPrairie Hill on the 1981 USGS map1953Prairie Hill sheet · 1:24,000

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Prairie Hill

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

See all →
B
Brent BriscoeAmerican actor and screenwriter · b. 1961
J
John BaileyAmerican cinematographer and film director · b. 1942
George W. P. HuntAmerican politician · b. 1859
B
Brad HuntAmerican actor · b. 1964
Frank P. BriggsAmerican politician · b. 1894
Elgin LessleyAmerican cinematographer · b. 1883

Questions about Prairie Hill’s history

What year was Prairie Hill founded?

The Prairie Hill post office opened in 1869, 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 →
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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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.