Founding year: the first St. James post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives St. James’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, St. James is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #121 of 247 in Missouri. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of St. James’ 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 St. James’ 2.6 sits near the middle of its state (55% 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 (±7.4 points). 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 St. James’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The settlement was originally known as Big Prairie because of its location on the natural prairie of that name in the area. In 1859, when a man by the name of John Wood anticipated the extension of the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway, the settlement became known for a short time as Scioto, named after the town of Scioto, Ohio, where many of the town's early settlers originated. In 1860, the town was named St. James to honor Thomas James, who came from Ohio and created the Meramec Iron Works. The town was intended as a shipping point for the Meramec Iron Works, which had been shipping its products by wagon train.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
St. James, census by census
Between 392 and 4,216 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on St. James’ Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Old corners and burying grounds
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Saint JamesSchundler
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside St. James
Immaculate Conception CatholicOld Saint JamesSaint James Cemetery CorporationSaint James Veterans Home
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about St. James’ history
What year was St. James founded?
The St. James post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does St. James rank for history?
St. James is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #121 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 St. James?
One place: the St. James Chapel (listed 1983).
How old are the homes in St. James?
14% of St. James’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.4 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 Wikimedia Commons (6), 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.
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