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History · Van Horn Township

Van Horn Township’s post office opened in 1869, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1951 on.

1869first post office
0on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Van Horn Township began

When was Van Horn Township founded?

1869

The Van Horn Township post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Round Grove (1840) and Van Horn (1869), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 426157 years
Founding year: the first Van Horn Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Van Horn Township’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 Van Horn Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Van Horn Township.Old housesHalf of Van Horn Township’s homes were built before 1950.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Van Horn Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Round Grove
1840–1856
Van Horn
1869–1887
18401930today
Gone or out of use
Maple Grove SchoolschoolNorth Baker SchoolschoolTaylor SchoolschoolVan Horn Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Van Horn Township
Rock Branch

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

The story so far

Van Horn Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Van Horn Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Van Horn Township is a township in Carroll County, in the U.S. state of Missouri. Van Horn Township has a population of 426 according to the 2020 census. Van Horn Township has the name of Robert T. Van Horn, a state legislator.

Its first post office opened in 1869. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 458 to 426 (-7%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Van Horn Township, 1840 to 1951

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1840Post officeThe Round Grove post office opens
  3. 1856Post officeThe Round Grove post office closes
  4. 1869Post officeThe Van Horn post office opens
  5. 1887Post officeThe Van Horn post office closes
  6. 20th century
  7. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.
Add from your album
On the map

Van Horn Township on the map, 1951 to 1978

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

Van Horn Township on the 1951 USGS mapVan Horn Township on the 1978 USGS map1951Standish sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Van Horn Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Van Horn Township

Nobody well known was born in Van Horn Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
P
Paul Carpenter StandleyAmerican botanist · b. 1884
Barbara SinatraAmerican model, showgirl, and socialite; wife o… · b. 1927
J
James FergasonInventor, entrepreneur · b. 1934
Robert SimpsonAmerican hurdler and track and field coach · b. 1892
Harold W. StokeAmerican academic · b. 1903
J
John JenkinsAmerican baseball player, born 1896 · b. 1896
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Stokes Mound TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLeslie TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRidge TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCarrollton Township4 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Van Horn Township’s history

What year was Van Horn Township founded?

The Van Horn Township post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.