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C−History
History · Wentzville

Wentzville dates to 1855, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns · #195 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it

Most of Wentzville was built recently: 0.6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2008. Its Register listing is the Wentzville Tobacco Company Factory. Below: maps from 1941 on and the census since 1880.

1855founded
1on the National Register
0.6%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Wentzville began

When was Wentzville founded?

1855

Wentzville dates its founding to 1855 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 541 in 18802020 census: 44,372171 years

How historic is Wentzville?

C−

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1859.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Wentzville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wentzville is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #195 of 247 in Missouri. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wentzville’s overall grade.
Founding era1855, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.6% of homes (±0.4) · typical MO town 8.4% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register1 listing, 0.2 per 10,000 residents · typical MO town 2.4 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 23%
NewerOlder
Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 21%

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 Wentzville’s 0.2 sits near the middle of its state (46% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±0.4 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1855.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Wentzville’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 Wentzville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages13 hamlets and corners are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wentzville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wentzville’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Wentzville’s post office has been open since 1859.

Hamlets and corners on the map
CimarronCrystal CreekFountains at Bear CreekGreat OaksHickory HollowHighland EstatesHuntsdalePeine Lake EstatesPeine WoodsStonemoorTimber TraceVillages at StonegateWoodlands at Bear Creek
Gone or out of use
Gilmore SchoolschoolPoint Prairie SchoolschoolWentzville Airportairport
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Wentzville
LinnSaint Patrick Church

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

The story

How Wentzville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wentzville.

Read it all →

Wentzville was laid out in 1855. The community is named for Erasmus Livingston Wentz, a chief engineer of the Northern Missouri Railroad. A post office called Wentzville has been in operation since 1859.

Wentzville is the location of the first Vietnam Veterans Memorial in the United States. It began in 1967 as a tree of lights to help raise money to send gifts to active servicemen. By 1984 it had become a carved eagle atop a pillar of granite. It is a regular stop in the national "Run for the Wall" trip for veterans.

Musician George Thorogood wrote the song "Back to Wentzville", the first track of his 1982 album Bad to the Bone, for rock pioneer Chuck Berry, who had a home in the area.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Wentzville, 1855 to 1997

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1855
    FoundingWentzville is established
  3. 1859Post officeThe Wentzville post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1941On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1979Born hereJustin Skaggs is born here
  7. 1990Born hereNate Orf is born here
  8. 1997Born hereKyle Weatherman is born here
By decade

Wentzville, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Wentzville Parkway2014Wentzville ParkwayWentzville Parkway2014Wentzville ParkwayWentzville Parkway2014Wentzville ParkwayWentzville Parkway2014Wentzville ParkwayWentzville Holt High School 20112011Wentzville Holt High School 2011MOMap-doton-Wentzville2004MOMap-doton-Wentzville
On the map

Wentzville on the map, 1941 to 2000

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

Wentzville on the 1941 USGS mapWentzville on the 1972 USGS mapWentzville on the 1982 USGS mapWentzville on the 2000 USGS map1941Troy 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 Wentzville.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Wentzville

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1990
Wentzville Tobacco Company Factory
Wentzville Tobacco Company Factory
Buildings
Wentzville Tobacco Company FactoryBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Wentzville, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,0001880190019201940196019802000202044,372

Grew from 541 people in 1880 to 44,372 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Wentzville’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Wentzville

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Nate OrfBaseball player · b. 1990
J
Justin SkaggsAmerican football player · b. 1979
Kyle WeathermanAmerican racing driver · b. 1997
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Flint HillIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLake St. LouisIts storyD−ForistellIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townO'Fallon3 historic placesC

Questions about Wentzville’s history

What year was Wentzville founded?

In 1855, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Wentzville’s post office opened in 1859, and the census of 1880 counted 541 people here.

How does Wentzville rank for history?

Wentzville is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #195 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 Wentzville?

One place: the Wentzville Tobacco Company Factory (listed 1990).

How old are the homes in Wentzville?

0.6% of Wentzville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 2008.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.