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History · South Fork

South Fork’s post office opened in 1860

Most of South Fork was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1963.

1860first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How South Fork began

When was South Fork founded?

1860

The South Fork post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 212166 years
Founding year: the first South Fork post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about South Fork’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 South Fork are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of South Fork’s homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start South Fork’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

South Fork, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of South Fork yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

South Fork is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Howell County, Missouri, United States. It is located 10 miles (16 km) southwest of West Plains on U.S. Route 160. As of the 2020 census, South Fork had a population of 212. A post office called South Fork was established in 1860, and remained in operation until 1960. The community was named after the nearby South Fork of the Spring River.

Its first post office opened in 1860. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 241 to 212 (-12%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

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.

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Places that used to be

Lost post offices

South Fork had its own post office from 1860 to 1960.

South Fork
1860–1960
18601940today

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

Questions about South Fork’s history

What year was South Fork founded?

The South Fork post office opened in 1860, 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 →
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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 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.