More historic than 16% of U.S. towns · #214 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
Most of Weldon Spring was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1937 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1875.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Weldon Spring’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Weldon Spring is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #214 of 247 in Missouri. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Weldon Spring’s 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 Weldon Spring’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share (±1.9 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1864.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Weldon Spring’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Weldon Spring was platted in 1864. The community took its name from a spring of the same name near the original town site. A post office called Weldon Spring was established in 1875, and remained in operation until 1957.
In 1941, the United States Army purchased 17,000 acres of land in the surrounding area. The Weldon Spring Ordnance Works built the largest explosives factory in the United States on the site. It was built to produce TNT and DNT for Allied forces during World War II. It closed on August 15, 1945, days after the end of the war. Most of the land was then sold.
A proposal appeared in 1945 suggesting the placement of United Nations Headquarters in the area.
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 Weldon Spring. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1937Weldon Spring 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 Weldon Spring.
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 viewMissouri, 1917
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Weldon Spring’s page.
In 1864, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Weldon Spring’s post office opened in 1875, and the census of 1880 counted 43 people here.
How does Weldon Spring rank for history?
Weldon Spring is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #214 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.
How old are the homes in Weldon Spring?
2% of Weldon Spring’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.9 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1995.
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 (6), 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.
1917
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2018
2017
