Scott City first appears in the census in 1910. Three smaller post offices, Illmo (1904), Fornfelt (1905) and Ancell (1912), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,209 in 19102020 census: 4,346116 years
How historic is Scott City?
C+
More historic than 36% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Scott City is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #153 of 247 in Missouri. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Scott City’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 Scott City’s 2.3 sits near the middle of its state (54% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.6 points).
Founding year: the first census (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 Scott City’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The town of Fornfelt and the area of Ancell were consolidated with Scott City March 7, 1960 while Illmo, Missouri, was incorporated into Scott City in 1980. The town of Fornfelt was previously known as Edna, but this name was changed as it was too similar to Edina, Missouri. Whipporwhill Hollow was the previous name of Illmo. The present name is derived from Scott County.
When Scott City and Illmo consolidated, the residents participated in a referendum where they selected the name "Scott City". The Daily Journal stated that the name was "overwhelmingly" selected.
The Scott City post office opened in 1910, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Scott City rank for history?
Scott City is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #153 of 247 in Missouri. 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 Scott City?
One place: the William Henry and Lilla Luce Harrison House (listed 2005).
How old are the homes in Scott City?
16% of Scott City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1967.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
