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History · Van Buren

Van Buren dates to 1833, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Van Buren was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Its Register listing is the Carter County Courthouse. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1944 on, and the census since 1930.

1833founded
1on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Van Buren’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Van Buren began

When was Van Buren founded?

1833

Van Buren dates its founding to 1833 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1930.

First census: 345 in 19302020 census: 747193 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1834.The full story ↓

What stands out about Van Buren’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1833: 193 years of Van Buren.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Van Buren’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Van Buren’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewVan Buren Bridge, Spanning Current Rive…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Van Buren, 1833 to 1944

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1833
    FoundingVan Buren is established
  3. 1834Post officeThe Van Buren post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1944On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Van Buren came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Van Buren.

Read it all →

In 1833, a commission appointed to choose a site for the county seat of Ripley County selected a site one-half mile (0.8 km) west and across Current River from the present location of Van Buren. They named the new county seat Van Buren after the then Vice President of the United States, Martin Van Buren. A courthouse was built and a small city grew up around it. The city had one small general merchandise store run by a man named Shaw and a water powered grist mill owned by John George.

Van Buren remained the county seat of Ripley County until 1847, when the county seat was moved south to the town of Doniphan. After removing the county seat to Doniphan, the town declined until only three or four families remained.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Van Buren, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Van Buren Bridge, Spanning Current River at US Route 60Date?Van Buren Bridge, Spanning Current River at US Route …
Today6 recent
Van-Buren-pedestrian-bridge-mo2021Van-Buren-pedestrian-bridge-moVan-Buren-log-cabin-mo2021Van-Buren-log-cabin-moVan-Buren-from-US60-mo2021Van-Buren-from-US60-moVan-Buren-Main-Street-mo2021Van-Buren-Main-Street-moVan-Buren-City-Hall-mo2021Van-Buren-City-Hall-moMOMap-doton-Van Buren2004MOMap-doton-Van Buren
On the map

Van Buren on the map, 1944 to 1968

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

Van Buren on the 1944 USGS mapVan Buren on the 1968 USGS map1944Van Buren 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 Van Buren.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Van Buren Bridge, Spanning Current River at US Route 60
Retake this viewVan Buren Bridge, Spanning Current River at US Route 60

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Van Buren’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Van Buren

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2022
Carter County Courthouse
Carter County Courthouse
Buildings
Carter County CourthouseBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Van Buren, census by census

02004006008001,00019401960198020002020Peak: 893

Between 345 and 893 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Questions about Van Buren’s history

What year was Van Buren founded?

In 1833, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Van Buren’s post office opened in 1834, and the census of 1930 counted 345 people here.

What is on the National Register in Van Buren?

One place: the Carter County Courthouse (listed 2022).

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 Wikimedia Commons (6), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.