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History · Turney

Turney dates to 1869, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1925 on and the census since 1880.

1869founded
0on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Turney began

When was Turney founded?

1869

Turney dates its founding to 1869 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 93 in 18802020 census: 114157 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1868.The full story ↓

What stands out about Turney’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 Turney are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 379 in 1980; 114 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Turney’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Turney’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

Turney, census by census

010020030040018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 379

Peaked at 379 in 1980; 114 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Turney came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Turney.

Read it all →

Turney was laid out in 1869, and named after Thomas E. Turney, a state politician. A post office called Turney has been in operation since 1895.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Turney, 1868 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1868Post officeThe Turney Station post office opens
  3. 1869
    FoundingTurney is established
  4. 1895Post officeThe Turney Station post office closes
  5. 1895Post officeThe Turney post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1925On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 379
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

Turney on the map, 1925 to 1984

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

Turney on the 1925 USGS mapTurney on the 1984 USGS map1925Plattsburg 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 Turney.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Turney’s post office has been open since 1895. Another post office, Turney Station, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Turney Station
1868–1895
Turney
1895–today
18601940today
1cemetery inside Turney
Turney

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

Questions about Turney’s history

What year was Turney founded?

In 1869, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Turney’s post office opened in 1868, and the census of 1880 counted 93 people here.

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.