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History · Wayland Township

51% of Wayland Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1953 on.

0on the National Register
51%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Wayland 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 Wayland Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wayland Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wayland Township’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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The story so far

Wayland Township, in brief

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

Wayland Township is a township in Chariton County, in the U.S. state of Missouri. Wayland Township most likely has the name of Eli Wayland, a pioneer citizen.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 157 to 163 (+4%).

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

Timeline

Wayland Township, 1869 to 1966

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869Post officeThe Prairie Hill post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1966Post officeThe Prairie Hill post office closes
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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On the map

Wayland Township on the map, 1953 to 1981

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

Wayland Township on the 1953 USGS mapWayland Township on the 1978 USGS mapWayland Township on the 1981 USGS map1953Bynumville 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 Wayland Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Wayland Township

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

See all →
B
Brent BriscoeAmerican actor and screenwriter · b. 1961
J
John BaileyAmerican cinematographer and film director · b. 1942
George W. P. HuntAmerican politician · b. 1859
B
Brad HuntAmerican actor · b. 1964
Frank P. BriggsAmerican politician · b. 1894
Elgin LessleyAmerican cinematographer · b. 1883
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Prairie Hill
Gone or out of use
Barnes SchoolschoolMcDonald SchoolschoolRedd SchoolschoolWashington Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Wayland Township
FawksPrairie Hill

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Cockrell TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKeytesville Township3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSalisbury Township2 historic placesA−Bee Branch TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Wayland Township’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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.