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History · Renick

Renick was first counted by the census in 1880, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1953 on and the census since 1880.

1880first census
0on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Renick began

When was Renick founded?

1880

Renick first appears in the census in 1880. Two smaller post offices, Randolph Court House (1829) and Randolph (1858), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 460 in 18802020 census: 154146 years
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓

What stands out about Renick’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 Renick are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Renick.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Renick’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Renick’s post office has been open since 1884. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Randolph Court House
1829–1831
Randolph
1858–1884
Renick
1884–today
18201920today

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

The story

How Renick came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Renick.

Read it all →

Renick was first named "Randolph", and was founded under this name in 1856. A post office called Randolph was established in 1858, and the name was changed to Renick in 1884. The present name is after one Mr. Renick, a railroad man.

Randolph County was home to much Confederate Guerrilla action. Renick was prone to the action, as it was a railroad hub and seen as vulnerable.

In 1862, After the Battle of Roans Tan Yard, wounded troops of the Union side were treated in Renick.

William T. Anderson was infamous for causing trouble in the county. Sometime during the summer of 1864, Anderson and some 65 Confederate Guerrilas raided Renick and burned the station that sat next to the railroad.

ChaptersCivil War

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Renick in 1920

Passages that mention Renick, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Milton M. Marshall was reared on his parent's farm and. attended school at Renick, Mo., where he laid the foundation for a good practical education, and when old enough he began to work on the railroad, being first employed by the Wabash, and later by the Chicago and Alton, and then accepting a pos…
History of Randolph County, Missouri1920 · page 350Read the page →
Read the text

Milton M. Marshall was reared on his parent's farm and. attended school at Renick, Mo., where he laid the foundation for a good practical education, and when old enough he began to work on the railroad, being first employed by the Wabash, and later by the Chicago and Alton, and then accepting a position with the Burlington Railroad. Thus for sixteen years, he was associated with various departments of the railroad business until he lost his right ami in an accident in 1887. This great handicap, however, did not discourage him and Mr. Marshall went

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
George M. Davis was reared on the home farm and attended the district schools and when a boy began work in a sawmill. Later he worked in a flour mill in Renick for the Renick Milling Company and was employed there from 1881 until 1894. He then located at Clark,
History of Randolph County, Missouri1920 · page 848Read the page →
Read the text

George M. Davis was reared on the home farm and attended the district schools and when a boy began work in a sawmill. Later he worked in a flour mill in Renick for the Renick Milling Company and was employed there from 1881 until 1894. He then located at Clark,

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Renick, 1829 to 1953

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1829Post officeThe Randolph Court House post office opens
  3. 1831Post officeThe Randolph Court House post office closes
  4. 1858Post officeThe Randolph post office opens
  5. 1884Post officeThe Randolph post office closes
  6. 1884Post officeThe Renick post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Renick, decade by decade

Today12 recent
March 2006 Renick 100 35662003March 2006 Renick 100 3566March 2006 Renick 100 35652003March 2006 Renick 100 3565March 2006 Renick 100 35642003March 2006 Renick 100 3564March 2006 Renick 100 35632003March 2006 Renick 100 3563March 2006 Renick 100 35622003March 2006 Renick 100 3562March 2006 Renick 100 35612003March 2006 Renick 100 3561March 2006 Renick 100 35602003March 2006 Renick 100 3560March 2006 Renick 100 35592003March 2006 Renick 100 3559March 2006 Renick 100 35572003March 2006 Renick 100 3557March 2006 Renick 100 35562003March 2006 Renick 100 3556March 2006 Renick 100 35552003March 2006 Renick 100 3555March 2006 Renick 100 35522003March 2006 Renick 100 3552
On the map

Renick on the map, 1953 to 1979

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

Renick on the 1953 USGS mapRenick on the 1979 USGS map1953Renick 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 Renick.

People over time

Renick, census by census

010020030040050018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 460

Between 154 and 460 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Renick

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

See all →
Norbert WienerAmerican mathematician, scientist in cybernetic… · b. 1894
J
Jessica CapshawAmerican actress · b. 1976
Maxwell D. TaylorAmerican military officer and diplomat · b. 1901
Carlos PenaVegaAmerican film and TV actor, singer-songwriter, … · b. 1989
Stan KroenkeAmerican businessman · b. 1947
William SmithAmerican actor · b. 1933

Questions about Renick’s history

What year was Renick founded?

The Renick post office opened in 1880, 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 →
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 (12), Wikipedia, 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.