How to Match a Historic Kirksville Address to Its Modern Location

An old Kirksville address is not automatically a modern location.

Street names can change, buildings can disappear, parcels can be combined, and numbers can be reassigned.

The goal is to prove the physical location independently of the old address text.

Step 1: fix the address to a date

Write down:

• exact historic address;
• source;
• date;
• person or business associated with it.

The same number can represent a different place after renumbering.

An address without a date is weaker evidence than it looks.

Step 2: verify it in a period directory

Truman State University's digital Kirksville directory collection currently includes nine editions from 1892 through 1930.

Use the nearest directory to verify:

• person or business;
• printed address;
• neighboring addresses;
• street guide;
• map where available.

If the address disappears in a later directory, do not immediately conclude the building was demolished.

It may have been renumbered.

Step 3: place the block on a Sanborn map

Where coverage exists, Sanborn maps can provide:

• building footprint;
• street number;
• intersection;
• alley;
• neighboring buildings;
• building use.

The Library of Congress has a 14-sheet Kirksville Sanborn set from August 1914.

Capture the edition and sheet number.

Step 4: tie the block to stable anchors

Use features that are easier to carry forward:

• courthouse square;
• major streets;
• railroad corridor;
• campus;
• cemetery;
• creek;
• major intersection.

Do not rely on a single vanished business as the only anchor.

Step 5: look for lot-and-block continuity

A legal description can survive an address change.

Assessor and recorder records may identify:

• subdivision;
• lot;
• block;
• modern parcel.

That can provide a stronger bridge between historic and modern location than a street number.

Step 6: use modern parcel GIS

Adair County's assessor system can help locate the current parcel and address.

Treat GIS boundaries as research aids, not legal survey lines.

If exact boundary questions matter, use legal records or a survey.

Step 7: determine whether the building survives

The location can be correct even when the building is gone.

Possible outcomes include:

• original building survives;
• replacement building on same lot;
• parcel split or combined;
• road widened;
• site now used for parking, street, campus or park.

Do not say "same house" unless building evidence supports that conclusion.

Step 8: state confidence honestly

Confirmed: period address, map and parcel evidence align.

High confidence: strong map and neighbor continuity but no legal description.

Approximate: only the block or intersection can be established.

Unresolved: sources conflict or remain incomplete.

For the earlier step of proving that the address itself changed, see How to Research a Kirksville Address When Street Names or Numbers Changed.

Historical geography gets much easier once you stop demanding that a 1910 address behave politely in 2026.