The story
Read it all →How Vibbard came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Vibbard.
A post office called Vibbard was established in 1870, and remained in operation until 1939.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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History · Vibbard
Vibbard’s post office opened in 1870
Most of Vibbard was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. Below: maps from 1957 on and old-book passages.
1870first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Vibbard began
When was Vibbard founded?
1870
The Vibbard post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name.
2020 census: 215156 years
Founding year: the first Vibbard post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Vibbard’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Vibbard’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Vibbard’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.From the old history books
What they wrote about Vibbard in 1881
Passages that mention Vibbard, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Ray County, Mo.1881 · page 679Read the page →
Read the text
Joshua Butler Gant is a native of Ray county, Missouri, born April 15, 1848. He was reared on a farm and engaged, after growing up, in farming, until the age of twenty-nine years, when he and his brothers entered the mercantile business at the town of Vibbard, Ray county. This business they have ever since conducted, and now have a nourishing trade besides owning the handsome store house in which their stock is kept, and other valuable property in Vibbard. Mr. J. B. Gant is a practical experienced business man, a good citizen and a valuable member of the community in
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Ray County, Mo.1881 · page 672Read the page →
Read the text
he was but two years of age, and he has spent most of the time since in this county. He was engaged in farming and stock-raising until about the year 1872, when he commenced merchandising, and has continued that business ever since. He is now located at the town of Vibbard, and with his brothers, is conducting a large store at that place under the title of T. R. Gant & Bros. They own the fine store building in which they do business, and are also proprietors of the telephone and hack line between Vibbard and Excelsior Springs. Messrs. T. R. Gant & Bros, are
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
Vibbard, 1870 to 1957
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1870Post officeThe Vibbard post office opens
- 20th century
- 1939Post officeThe Vibbard post office closes
- 1957
On 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.
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Add from your albumOn the map
Vibbard on the map, 1957 to 1990
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Vibbard. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1957Lawson sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Vibbard.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Vibbard
Nobody well known was born in Vibbard itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices
Vibbard had its own post office from 1870 to 1939.
Vibbard
18701950today
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Vibbard’s history
What year was Vibbard founded?
The Vibbard post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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, 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.