Its Register listings are the John Dickinson Dopf Mansion and the Atchison County Memorial Building. Below: maps from 1915 on and the census since 1860.
The Rock Port post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Byron (1855), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 305 in 18602020 census: 1,278170 years
How historic is Rock Port?
B+
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Rock Port post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Rock Port’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rock Port is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rock Port’s overall grade.
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 Rock Port’s 16.4 sits above most of its state (79% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.3 points). 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 Rock Port’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Rock Port was laid out on April 8, 1851 and incorporated December 13, 1855. The city, which is eight miles east of the Missouri River in the Loess Hills bluffs above the river, derives its name from Rock Creek, which flows through it. Following the Honey War border dispute with Iowa when Missouri's northern border was shifted farther south, the original county seat was moved from Linden to Rock Port.
The original city is located just east of I-29, but there is an additional travel hub closer to the interstate; truck stops, motels, fast food restaurants and fireworks stands host a large number of daytime visitors, despite the city's small size.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Rock Port, census by census
Between 305 and 1,575 people in every census since 1860.
17 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Rock Port’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices and burying grounds
Another post office, Byron, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Byron
1855–1856
Rockport
1856–today
18501940today
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Rock Port
ElmwoodGreen Hill
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Rock Port’s history
What year was Rock Port founded?
The Rock Port post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Rock Port rank for history?
Rock Port is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns. 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 Rock Port?
Two places: the John Dickinson Dopf Mansion (listed 1984) and the Atchison County Memorial Building (1987).
How old are the homes in Rock Port?
23% of Rock Port’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1960.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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) 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.
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