Smithville’s post office opened in 1844, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 74% of U.S. towns · #60 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
Most of Smithville was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 30 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1914 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Smithville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Smithville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Smithville is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #60 of 247 in Missouri. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Smithville’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 Smithville’s 28.0 sits above most of its state (83% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 30 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% 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 (±2.8 points) is firm at this size. 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 Smithville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Smithville is named after Humphrey "Yankee" Smith (1774 – May 5, 1857) after he settled at the site in 1822. The town was originally known as "Smith's Mill" but ultimately became "Smithville" as it was easier to pronounce. Another reputed history behind the name is that it was going to be named Smith's Mill, but there was already another current settlement in Missouri with the same name so it was altered slightly to differentiate it.
Silver Screen stars Wallace Beery and Noah Beery, Sr. were born and raised near Smithville.
The Aker Cemetery and Downtown Smithville Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Passages that mention Smithville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Clay County, Missouri1920 · page 198Read the page →
Read the text
Smithville has been several times incorporated. The first incorporation was by the county court, August 7, 1867; this was amended April 8, 1868, but the trustees appointed never qualified, and July 6, following, the county court apiwinted Erastus Smith. Jacob Kraus, Otis Guernsey, Theodoric Fitzgerald and Matthew McGregory in their stead. February 4, 1878, there was another incorpoi'ation, the territoiy incorporated being described as "all that portion of the southwest quarter of section 23, to\vnship 53, range 33, lying south of Smith's fork of Platte River". October
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Clay County, Missouri1920 · page 387Read the page →
Read the text
While living at Smithville Mr. Gentry took an active part in securing a railroad for the town. He helped secure the right of w^ay and assisted in raising bonuses, in order that the road should be completed to the town of Smithville. I'his proved to be a good move for when the road was completed to Smithville the company went into the hands of a receiver, and Smithville became the terminus of the railroad for several years. Mr.
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
Smithville, 1844 to 1980
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1920Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewJames Poff House, Paradise Road
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Smithville’s page.
Grew from 231 people in 1880 to 10,406 in 2020, more than tenfold.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Smithville’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Places now gone and burying grounds
Smithville’s post office has been open since 1844.
Gone or out of use
Rocky Point Schoollocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Smithville
BrooksDavenport
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Smithville’s history
What year was Smithville founded?
The Smithville post office opened in 1844, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Smithville rank for history?
Smithville is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #60 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 Smithville?
Two places: the Aker Cemetery (listed 1974) and the Downtown Smithville Historic District (2014).
How old are the homes in Smithville?
6% of Smithville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1996.
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 Library of Congress (3), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
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