Most of Steelville was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Its Register listing is the Big Bend Rural School. Below: maps from 1914 on and the census since 1860.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1836.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Steelville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Steelville is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Steelville’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 Steelville’s 12.0 sits above most of its state (74% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±3.9 points). Two sources give 1835.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Steelville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Before the 1800s, the first people to live in the Steelville area were groups likely tied to the Osage nation. These peoples were driven west into what became modern-day Oklahoma. In the 1830s, the Trail of Tears, a government-sponsored forced march of the largest groups of the southeastern United States, passed through Steelville, with people primarily from the Choctaw and Cherokee tribes. They came mostly from Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee and were forced to relocate to Oklahoma and the West. It is believed that they stopped in Steelville around the spring to rest, bury their dead and get supplies.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Steelville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1933Steelville 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 Steelville.
Every building
Steelville, building by building, 1914–1924
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.
1914Sheet 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.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Steelville
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Steelville’s post office has been open since 1836.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Sankey
1cemetery inside Steelville
Steelville
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Steelville’s history
What year was Steelville founded?
In 1835, according to Wikidata. Steelville’s post office opened in 1836, and the census of 1860 counted 226 people here.
How does Steelville rank for history?
Steelville is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns. 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 Steelville?
One place: the Big Bend Rural School (listed 1978).
How old are the homes in Steelville?
8% of Steelville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1980.
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 (5), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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