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–Not graded
History · Sampsel Township

Half of Sampsel Township’s homes were built after 1994

Most of Sampsel Township was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994.

0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Sampsel Township’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 Sampsel Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Sampsel Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sampsel Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sampsel Township’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, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Sampsell Station
1871–1906
Sampsell
1906–1953
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Sampsel
Gone or out of use
Boucher SchoolschoolBrookshire SchoolschoolBrown SchoolschoolMoody SchoolschoolRawlie SchoolschoolSneed Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Sampsel Township
Mount Pleasant

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

The story

How Sampsel Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Sampsel Township.

Read it all →

Sampsel was originally spelled Sampsell, and under the latter name was platted in 1870 when the railroad was extended to that point. The community has the name of J. B. F. Sampsell, a railroad man. A post office called Sampsell Station was established in 1871, the name was changed to Sampsell in 1906, and the post office closed in 1953.

At its peak in 1929, the town had a bank, a general store, a pool hall, a grain elevator, as well as two schools and a number of houses. The town was abandoned sometime between 1970 and 1990. Many of the original buildings are still standing.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Sampsel Township, 1871 to 1953

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Sampsell Station post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1906Post officeThe Sampsell Station post office closes
  5. 1906Post officeThe Sampsell post office opens
  6. 1953Post officeThe Sampsell post office closes
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.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Sampsel Township

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

See all →
Martha ScottAmerican actress · b. 1912
Conrad BurnsAmerican politician · b. 1935
W
Walter PageAmerican jazz musician · b. 1900
Alexander Monroe DockeryMissouri politician · b. 1845
Buzz BartonAmerican actor · b. 1913
Courtney W. CampbellAmerican politician · b. 1895
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Mooresville TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJackson TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGreen TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJackson TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Sampsel Township’s history

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 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.