The Great American Survey: A Slapdash Database of Historic Buildings

Founding:  1879 (declared in 1867) Parent counties:  Unorganized territory Namesake:  Lewis Stafford, Kansas soldier Seat:  St. John (1879–) Land area:  792 square miles Population (2020):  4,072 Population (historic):  4,755 (1880); 9,829 (1900); 10,460 (1930) Periods of population growth:  pre-1880–1910 Subdivisions:  Six cities; 21 townships National Register listings:   Nine Pre-1940 residences (estimated):  826 (39.2%) Pre-1940 housing survival rate:  35.1% Farm housing in disrepair (1950):  9.5% Nonfarm housing in disrepair (1950):  5.3% Average farmhouse value (1930):  $1,401 Average outbuilding value (1930):  $1,189 Average farmhouse size (1940):  5.8 rooms Number of farms (1920):  1,490 Average farm size (1920):  271.7 acres Sources of settlement:  Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania _________________________________________________________________________________   St. John   Namesake:  John St. John, Kansas governor Founding:  1875 (founding a

Founding:  1870 (declared in 1856) Parent county:  York Namesake:  James Polk, U.S. president Seat:  Osceola (1871–) Land area:  438 square miles Population (2020):  5,214 Population (historic):  6,846 (1880); 10,542 (1900); 10,092 (1930) Periods of population growth:  1870–1890; 1910s Subdivisions:  Two cities; two villages National Register listings:   Six Pre-1940 residences (estimated):  942 (37%) Pre-1940 housing survival rate:  42.6% Farm housing in disrepair (1950):  7% Nonfarm housing in disrepair (1950):  5.7% Average farmhouse value (1930):  $1,988 Average outbuilding value (1930):  $1,889 Average farmhouse size (1940):  6.7 rooms Number of farms (1920):  1,476 Average farm size (1920):  158.6 acres Sources of settlement:  Sweden, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, Germany, Pennsylvania, and Poland _________________________________________________________________________________   Osceola   Namesake:  Osceola, Iowa Founding:  1871 (platting); 1871 (post office); 1881 (incorporation) Popul

Founding:  1875 Parent counties:  Chippewa, Clark, Lincoln, and Marathon Namesake:  William Taylor, Wisconsin governor Seat:  Medford (1875–) Land area:  975 square miles Population (2020):  19,913 Population (historic):  2,311 (1880); 11,262 (1900); 17,685 (1930) Periods of population growth:  pre-1880–1920; 1930s; 1970–2010 Subdivisions:  One city; four villages; four CDPs; 22 towns National Register listings:   Eight Pre-1940 residences (estimated):  1,737 (18.2%) Pre-1940 housing survival rate:  45.3% Farm housing in disrepair (1950):  17% Average farmhouse value (1930):  $1,146 Average outbuilding value (1930):  $1,304 Average farmhouse size (1940):  4.6 rooms Number of farms (1920):  2,260 Average farm size (1920):  23 acres Sources of settlement:  Germany, Wisconsin, Austria, Illinois, Russia, Poland, and Sweden _________________________________________________________________________________   Medford   Namesake:  Medford, Massachusetts Founding:  1874 (post office); 1875 (plat

Founding:  1805 Parent counties:  Cumberland and York Namesake:  Oxford, Massachusetts Seat:  Paris Hill (1805–1895); South Paris (1895–) Land area:  2,077 square miles Population (2020):  57,777 Population (historic):  17,630 (1810); 38,351 (1840); 33,488 (1870); 32,238 (1900); 41,483 (1930) Periods of population growth:  pre-1810–1850; 1890–1960; 1970–2010 Subdivisions:  Nine CDPs; 35 towns; four territories National Register listings:   101 Pre-1940 residences (estimated):  8,462 (23.4%) Pre-1940 housing survival rate:  74.7% Pre-1860 housing survival rate (1940):  37% Farm housing in disrepair (1950):  14.2% Nonfarm housing in disrepair (1950):  8.9% Average farmhouse value (1930):  $1,334 Average outbuilding value (1930):  $838 Average farmhouse size (1940):  7.1 rooms Number of farms (1920):  3,078 Average farm size (1920):  43.8 acres _________________________________________________________________________________   South Paris   Namesake:  The village's location within the