Philadelphia’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold only 4 old photos of Philadelphia. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story so far
from Wikipedia & the U.S. CensusPhiladelphia is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in western Marion County, Missouri, United States. It is located 12 miles (19 km) west of Palmyra on Missouri Route 168. The community is part of the Hannibal Micropolitan Statistical Area. Philadelphia was platted in 1835. The community was named after Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A post office called Philadelphia has been in operation since 1847. Philadelphia was first listed as a census-designated place for the 2020 census, at which time it had a population of 206.
Half of its homes were built before 1987.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Philadelphia yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowStart Philadelphia’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Philadelphia’s history is told.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🗓️Date a photo1 archive item has no date+2 🔁Retake an old viewLampshade design with six views: …, 1850: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Philadelphia
See all 1 →
Philadelphia, decade by decade
![Institutional structures by Gilbert.] [Sketches](https://images.towntapestry.org/story/41163/f638c987c7cc2bc66e13-s.jpg)
1990s
unknown1 item
Nothing in Philadelphia is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Philadelphia has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Speigle House in Palmyra, 11.8 miles away.
Philadelphia and the nearest listed places
How a place gets listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Lampshade design with six views: "Kansas", "Jefferson City", "Erie R.R.", "New York", "Niagara", and "Water Works, Phil… (1850) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom the Library of Congress (4). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.