Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 57% of U.S. towns · #104 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
Most of Waynesville was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Its Register listings are the Pulaski County Courthouse and the Old Stagecoach Stop. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1942 on, and the census since 1910.
The Waynesville post office opened in 1834, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1839.
More historic than 57% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Waynesville is more historic than 57% of U.S. towns, #104 of 247 in Missouri. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
Missouri towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Missouri town has 2.4 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Waynesville’s 3.7 sits near the middle of its state (58% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Waynesville’s history is told.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archive"Waynesville, MO. Camp of the 5th (formerly 13th) Regiment Calvary M.S.M."
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Born hereDon W. Cleveland is born here
Born hereDavid A. Day is born hereFrom Wikipedia’s history of Waynesville.
Waynesville was platted in 1839 and the city was named for Anthony Wayne.
The post office in Waynesville has been in operation since 1834. During the Civil War, units of the 5th Missouri State Militia were sometimes garrisoned at Waynesville.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Waynesville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Waynesville.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Waynesville’s page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Grew from 257 people in 1910 to 5,406 in 2020, more than tenfold.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Waynesville’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Waynesville’s post office has been open since 1834.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Waynesville post office opened in 1834, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1839.
Waynesville is more historic than 57% of U.S. towns, #104 of 247 in Missouri. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Two places: the Pulaski County Courthouse (listed 1979) and the Old Stagecoach Stop (1980).
4% of Waynesville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1985.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (7), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
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