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History · Washington Township

34% of Washington Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: 6 old photos and papers and maps from 1925 on.

0on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Washington Township’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Washington Township’s past

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

On the map since 19253 editions of the USGS map, 1925 to 1984. Watch Washington Township change.
★ What stands out · On the map

Washington Township on the map, 1925 to 1984

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

Washington Township on the 1925 USGS mapWashington Township on the 1948 USGS mapWashington Township on the 1984 USGS map1925Gilman 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 Washington Township.

The story so far

Washington Township, in brief

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

Washington Township is a township in Daviess County, Missouri, United States. At the 2020 census, its population was 149.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 141 to 149 (+6%).

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

Timeline

Washington Township, 1890 to 1925

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1890Post officeThe Madelaine post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1903Post officeThe Madelaine post office closes
  5. 1908In the archiveWashington Mo. looking south
  6. 1910In the archiveGroup of Young Girls Working in Peerless Box Co
  7. 1925On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Washington Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s5 items
Washington Mo. looking south1908Washington Mo. looking southWashington Mo. looking west1908Washington Mo. looking westWashington Mo. looking east1908Washington Mo. looking east5th St. residences19085th St. residencesCedar St. residences1908Cedar St. residences
1910s1 item
Group of Young Girls Working in Peerless Box Co1910Group of Young Girls Working in Peerless Box Co
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
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.

Washington Mo. looking south
Retake this viewWashington Mo. looking south, 1908

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Washington Township

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

See all →
Conrad BurnsAmerican politician · b. 1935
Wild Bill ElliottAmerican actor · b. 1904
W
Walter PageAmerican jazz musician · b. 1900
Alexander Monroe DockeryMissouri politician · b. 1845
Buzz BartonAmerican actor · b. 1913
Enoch Herbert CrowderAmerican diplomat · b. 1859
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Another post office, Madelaine, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Madelaine
Gone or out of use
Excelsior SchoolschoolHickory Creek ChurchchurchNetherton SchoolschoolScotland SchoolschoolSmith Schoolschool

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

Help out

Finish Washington Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewWashington Mo. looking south: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Lincoln TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGrand River TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSalem TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAdams TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Washington Township’s history

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 the Library of Congress (6), 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.