History · Paynesville

Paynesville’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Paynesville. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
1historic places
0recent photos

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

Paynesville was platted in 1831, and named after William Payne, a St. Louis-based tradesman. A post office called Paynesville was established in 1833, and remained in operation until 1997.

The Meloan, Cummins & Co., General Store was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Paynesville, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
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National Register of Historic Places

1 historic place in Paynesville

1 place in Paynesville is on the National Register of Historic Places, the country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

#153
In Missouriby listings · most towns there have none
1place listed1 building
0National Historic LandmarksNone here yet
1historic building protectedcounting each building in a district
1993first listedMeloan, Cummins & Co., General Store

Where they are

Tap a dot for a photo and link. Districts show at their center.
Buildings

When they were listed

The Register began in 1966.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places (05/22/2026) · styles from the National Archives catalog · photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Paynesville, MOView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01