Library of Congress
1 / 25#25. Brunswick, Chariton County
- Total population: 4,576 (#621 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,345
--- Female population: 2,231
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,497
Biggest cities in Missouri 150 years ago
After the completion of the 1860 census and the election of President Abraham Lincoln, America imploded. Eleven southern states seceded from the Union in 1861, instigating four bloody years of the Civil War and fundamentally altering the social history of the U.S. The estimates of deaths caused by the Civil War begin around 600,000, but some claim as many as 750,000 individuals died throughout the conflict.
With so many families looking for a new start after combat finally ended and approximately 4 million Black Americans emancipated from slavery, it was time for many Americans to look for a new home to put down roots. The obvious choice for many was to move west, where there was more land to buy, settle, and cultivate. Many traveled by covered wagon, spending months on the dusty trail. Others who could afford better accommodations took a 25-day ride by stagecoach. All of them picked new cities and towns to make their homes, spreading the U.S. population more evenly across different states and territories.
On May 10, 1869, the first transcontinental railroad route across the United States was completed, ushering in a new era of transportation. The project was completed ahead of schedule and under budget, though with the loss of many lives, including those of the many Irish and Chinese immigrants hired to work 12-hour days in the hot western sun. Riding by steam engine, passengers could cross the entire country in four days, enabling waves of Americans and immigrants to quickly occupy land that would otherwise take months to settle.
The years of Civil War reconstruction, coupled with wagon, stagecoach, and railroad passengers finding new lives across the U.S., made the urban development reflected in the 1870 census incredibly interesting. Stacker compiled a list of the biggest cities in Missouri from 150 years ago using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. By transcribing Table XXV of the Ninth Census of the U.S. it's easy to explore what the urban landscape looked like less than a decade after the end of the Civil War as America healed and grew.
The largest city in Missouri ranked #4 among all cities nationwide in 1870. Of the 100 largest cities in the U.S., 3 were in Missouri. Keep reading to find out more about the historic metropolitan landscape in your home state or check out the data on your own on our site, GitHub, or data.world.
Andreas Larsen Dahl/Wisconsin Historical Society // Getty Images
2 / 25#24. Warrensburg, Johnson County
- Total population: 4,804 (#563 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,392
--- Female population: 2,419
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,581
Carson Brothers/Buyenlarge // Getty Images
3 / 25#23. Liberty, Clay County
- Total population: 4,831 (#555 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,492
--- Female population: 2,339
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,644
Camerique/ClassicStock // Getty Images
4 / 25#22. Cedar, Boone County
- Total population: 5,020 (#518 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,580
--- Female population: 2,440
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,742
Minnesota Historical Society/Corbis via Getty Images
5 / 25#21. Boles, Franklin County
- Total population: 5,183 (#494 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,770
--- Female population: 2,413
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,833
Underwood Archives // Getty Images
6 / 25#20. Calumet, Pike County
- Total population: 5,185 (#491 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,680
--- Female population: 2,505
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,759
Minnesota Historical Society/Corbis via Getty Images
7 / 25#19. Wakenda, Carroll County
- Total population: 5,312 (#470 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,785
--- Female population: 2,557
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,834
Alexander Alland, Sr./Corbis via Getty Images
8 / 25#18. Boonville, Cooper County
- Total population: 5,319 (#469 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,665
--- Female population: 2,654
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,846
Carleton E. Watkins/Bettmann Archive via Getty Images
9 / 25#17. Carondelet, St. Louis County
- Total population: 5,387 (#462 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,933
--- Female population: 2,454
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,784
Underwood Archives // Getty Images
10 / 25#16. Grand River, Henry County
- Total population: 5,450 (#449 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,878
--- Female population: 2,572
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,706
Camerique/ClassicStock // Getty Images
11 / 25#15. Springfield, Greene County
- Total population: 5,555 (#438 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,829
--- Female population: 2,726
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,541
Underwood Archives // Getty Images
12 / 25#14. St. Charles, St. Charles County
- Total population: 5,570 (#435 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,939
--- Female population: 2,631
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,602
Detroit Publishing Company // Library of Congress
13 / 25#13. Richmond, Ray County
- Total population: 5,581 (#434 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,904
--- Female population: 2,677
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,384
Underwood Archives // Getty Images
14 / 25#12. Salt River, Audrain County
- Total population: 5,602 (#430 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,900
--- Female population: 2,702
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,908
Underwood Archives // Getty Images
15 / 25#11. Washington, Franklin County
- Total population: 5,614 (#428 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,952
--- Female population: 2,662
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,947
Bettmann // Getty Images
16 / 25#10. Bonhomme, St. Louis County
- Total population: 6,162 (#366 nationwide)
--- Male population: 3,328
--- Female population: 2,834
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,890
Minnesota Historical Society/Corbis via Getty Images
17 / 25#9. Mount Sterling, Pettis County
- Total population: 6,305 (#354 nationwide)
--- Male population: 3,174
--- Female population: 3,131
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,896
Transcendental Graphics // Getty Images
18 / 25#8. Lexington, Lafayette County
- Total population: 6,336 (#347 nationwide)
--- Male population: 3,071
--- Female population: 3,265
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 2,262
Minnesota Historical Society/Corbis via Getty Images
19 / 25#7. St. Ferdinand, St. Louis County
- Total population: 7,214 (#285 nationwide)
--- Male population: 3,885
--- Female population: 3,329
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 2,343
Underwood Archives // Getty Images
20 / 25#6. Campbell, Greene County
- Total population: 8,694 (#225 nationwide)
--- Male population: 4,469
--- Female population: 4,225
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 2,555
Vintage Images // Getty Images
21 / 25#5. Central, St. Louis County
- Total population: 8,923 (#221 nationwide)
--- Male population: 4,795
--- Female population: 4,128
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 2,761
American Stock/ClassicStock // Getty Images
22 / 25#4. Hannibal, Marion County
- Total population: 10,125 (#179 nationwide)
--- Male population: 5,177
--- Female population: 4,948
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 2,987
Chicago History Museum // Getty Images
23 / 25#3. St. Joseph, Buchanan County
- Total population: 19,565 (#77 nationwide)
--- Male population: 10,942
--- Female population: 8,623
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 5,217
H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock // Getty Images
24 / 25#2. Kansas City, Jackson County
- Total population: 32,260 (#38 nationwide)
--- Male population: 18,313
--- Female population: 13,947
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 8,856
Hulton Archive // Getty Images
25 / 25#1. St. Louis, St. Louis County
- Total population: 310,864 (#4 nationwide)
--- Male population: 161,796
--- Female population: 149,068
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 93,469
