Steele City’s post office opened in 1872, and 84% of its homes were built before 1940
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 8 buildings.
How Steele City began
When was Steele City founded?
The Steele City post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Rock Creek (1865), Jenkin's Mills (1867) and Steelburg (1894), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2 listings protect 9 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Architectural styles listings
All 2 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Lost post offices
Steele City’s post office has been open since 1872. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Steele City’s history
What year was Steele City founded?
The Steele City post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What is on the National Register in Steele City?
Two places: the District No. 1 School of Jefferson County (listed 1997) and the Steele City Historic District (1972).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.