Webster Groves’ post office opened in 1862, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 87% of U.S. towns · #18 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
12 places in town are on the National Register, among them five historic districts with 582 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1933 on, and the census since 1890.
From Webster Groves’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Webster Groves began
When was Webster Groves founded?
1862
The Webster Groves post office opened in 1862, the earliest record of the town by name. Four smaller post offices, Webster Station (1860), Old Orchard (1886) and Shrewsbury (1892), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,783 in 18902020 census: 24,010164 years
How historic is Webster Groves?
A
More historic than 87% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Webster Groves post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Webster Groves’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Webster Groves is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns, #18 of 247 in Missouri. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Webster Groves’ overall grade.
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 Webster Groves’ 248 sits above most of its state (96% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 589 historic buildings outnumber those of 98% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A+. The pre-1940 share (±2.5 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 →
What stands out about Webster Groves’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Webster Groves is approximately 2 miles (3 km) west of the St. Louis city limits, and 10 miles (16 km) southwest of downtown St. Louis, in an area known to fur trappers and Missouri, Osage and Dakota indigenous people, until 1802, as the Dry Ridge. In the early 19th century, this region, once a part of the Louisiana Territory, was changing from Spanish to French ownership, and a system of land grants was inaugurated to promote immigration. During the early period of Spanish rule, officials gave land to settlers as a check against the English.
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.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Webster Groves. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1933Jefferson Barracks 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 Webster Groves.
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.
Retake this viewLongview Woods near Webster Groves, MO, taken by members of the Camera Club of Webster, c. 1885
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Webster Groves’ page.
The Webster Groves post office opened in 1862, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Webster Groves rank for history?
Webster Groves is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns, #18 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.
What is on the National Register in Webster Groves?
12 listings: 7 buildings, among them the Hawken House (listed 1970, the first), and 5 historic districts with 582 contributing buildings. 589 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Webster Groves?
35% of Webster Groves’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.5 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1952.
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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (12), 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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