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History · Westphalia

Westphalia dates to 1835, and 42% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the St. Joseph Church. Below: 4 old photos and papers and the census since 1910.

1835founded
1on the National Register
42%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Westphalia’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Westphalia began

When was Westphalia founded?

1835

Westphalia dates its founding to 1835 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 321 in 19102020 census: 378191 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1848.The full story ↓

What stands out about Westphalia’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Westphalia’s homes were built before 1952.Deep rootsEstablished in 1835: 191 years of Westphalia.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Westphalia’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo4 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewWesterman House, Main Street: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Westphalia came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Westphalia.

Read it all →

Westphalia was platted in 1835, and named after Westphalia, in Germany, the native home of a large share of the first settlers. A post office called Westphalia has been in operation since 1848.

St. Joseph Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Westphalia, 1835 to 1848

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1835
    FoundingWestphalia is established
  3. 1848BuiltSt. Joseph Church is built
  4. 1848Post officeThe Westphalia post office opens
By decade

Westphalia, decade by decade

Date unknown4 to date
Westerman House, Main StreetDate?Westerman House, Main StreetStake-and-Rider FenceDate?Stake-and-Rider FenceStone House, Route 63 NorthDate?Stone House, Route 63 NorthSt. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, Main StreetDate?St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, Main Street
Today5 recent
Westphalia, Missouri Cabin2026Westphalia, Missouri CabinSt Joseph Catholic Church2026St Joseph Catholic ChurchHomestead2026HomesteadMain Street2012Main StreetMOMap-doton-Westphalia2004MOMap-doton-Westphalia
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.

Westerman House, Main Street
Retake this viewWesterman House, Main Street

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Westphalia’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Westphalia

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
1972
St. Joseph Church
St. Joseph Church, built 1848
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Romanesque1
Gothic1
St. Joseph ChurchRomanesque · Built 1848

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

People over time

Westphalia, census by census

0100200300400192019401960198020002020Peak: 432

Between 234 and 432 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Questions about Westphalia’s history

What year was Westphalia founded?

In 1835, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Westphalia’s post office opened in 1848, and the census of 1910 counted 321 people here.

What is on the National Register in Westphalia?

One place: the St. Joseph Church (listed 1972).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (5), the Library of Congress (4), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.