The Tarkio post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Taskio (1880), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
2020 census: 1,506146 years
How historic is Tarkio?
A−
More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Tarkio post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Tarkio’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Tarkio is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Tarkio’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 Tarkio’s 20.4 sits above most of its state (82% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% 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 (±7.3 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 Tarkio’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Tarkio was laid out by Charles E. Perkins in August 1880, and grew rapidly. By 1900, the U.S. Census shows 2,845 persons living in Tarkio. According to the 1910, 1920, and 1930 census, the number of residents held fairly steady for the next 30 years.
One of the community's most famous landmarks was the Tarkio Mule Barn, an octagonal brick structure built in the early 1890s. It was converted to the Tarkio Mule Barn Theatre which was used by Tarkio College. It was on the National Register of Historic Places, but the building was destroyed in a 1989 fire.
Rankin Hall and the Walnut Inn are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Samuel P. and Nancy Bristow. Until in his seventeenth year he lived at home, on the farm. He came to Atchison county twenty-four years ago and began working as a farm hand, and, with the exception of two years, at the time of taking of the data for this sketch he had been here ever since. He located in Tarkio in 1893, and we must say that he was wonderfully successful in a business way as well as in attaining honors. He was elected to the office of Marshal of the town of Tarkio in 1896, and was re-elected when the term expired. For two years he served the town in the capacity of Alderman. He was elected M ay or of the town in 1902 and was re-elected at the expiration of the term.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
ployed in the wholesale mercantile establishment of Turner & Frazer, of St. Joseph, Mo., where he remained nine months. Shortly afterward he located on the land which he now owns and where he lived (with the exception of two years when he was engaged in the mercantile business in Tarkio) until he moved to Tarkio in 1905. Mr. Miller's home farm comprises 360 acres in section 35. township 65, range 39, seven and one-half miles south¬ east of Tarkio. He also owns eighty acres of land in section 30, township 65, range 39.
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
Tarkio, 1880 to 1963
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Tarkio’s post office has been open since 1880. Another post office, Taskio, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Tarkio
1880–today
Taskio
1880–1880
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Tarkio Academyschool
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Tarkio’s history
What year was Tarkio founded?
The Tarkio post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Tarkio rank for history?
Tarkio is more historic than 78% 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 Tarkio?
Three places: the Walnut Inn (listed 1982), the Rankin Hall (2010) and the Mule Barn Theatre (1970).
How old are the homes in Tarkio?
35% of Tarkio’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.3 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1958.
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 (3), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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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