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History · South Gifford

South Gifford’s post office opened in 1913, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1938 on and the census since 1910.

1913first post office
0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How South Gifford began

When was South Gifford founded?

1913

The South Gifford post office opened in 1913, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Gifford (1900), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 148 in 19102020 census: 22113 years
Founding year: the first South Gifford post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about South Gifford’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 Gifford are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 181 in 1930; 22 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of South Gifford’s homes were built before 1961.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start South Gifford’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how South Gifford’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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People over time

South Gifford, census by census

0100200192019401960198020002020Peak: 181

Peaked at 181 in 1930; 22 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on South Gifford’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How South Gifford came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of South Gifford.

Read it all →

South Gifford had its start in the early 1900s when the railroad was extended to that point. A post office called South Gifford was established in 1913, and remained in operation until 1971.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

South Gifford, 1900 to 1971

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1900Post officeThe Gifford post office opens
  3. 1913Post officeThe South Gifford post office opens
  4. 1918Post officeThe Gifford post office closes
  5. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 181
  6. 1938On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1971Post officeThe South Gifford 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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On the map

South Gifford on the map, 1938 to 1979

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of South Gifford. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

South Gifford on the 1938 USGS mapSouth Gifford on the 1940 USGS mapSouth Gifford on the 1979 USGS map1938Kirksville sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of South Gifford.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

South Gifford had its own post office from 1913 to 1971. Another post office, Gifford, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gifford
1900–1918
South Gifford
1913–1971
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Gifford

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

Questions about South Gifford’s history

What year was South Gifford founded?

The South Gifford post office opened in 1913, 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 →
Start a conversation
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, 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.