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DHistory
History · Alexander

Alexander’s post office opened in 1873

More historic than 9% of U.S. towns · #105 of 123 in Arkansas. What drives it

Most of Alexander was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2001. Below: maps from 1935 on.

1873first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Alexander began

When was Alexander founded?

1873

The Alexander post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1887.

2020 census: 3,385153 years

How historic is Alexander?

D

More historic than 9% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Alexander post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1887.
History grade

What drives Alexander’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Alexander is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns, #105 of 123 in Arkansas. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Alexander’s overall grade.
Founding era1873, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±0.9) · typical AR town 3.1% · U.S. 8.4%D−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical AR town 20.5 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 9%
NewerOlder
Arkansas towns of 2,500+ (123)Ahead of 15%

Arkansas towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Arkansas town has 20.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Alexander’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (11% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1887 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Alexander’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Alexander are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Alexander’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Alexander’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Alexander, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Alexander yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Alexander is a city in Pulaski and Saline counties in the U.S. state of Arkansas. Located in Central Arkansas, the town was founded as a construction camp for the nearby railroad. Following its completion, the citizens decided to incorporate in 1887. Alexander is home to the Arkansas Juvenile Assessment and Treatment Center. As of the 2020 census, Alexander had a population of 3,385.

Its first post office opened in 1873. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,901 to 3,385 (+17%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Alexander, 1873 to 1935

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Post officeThe Alexander post office opens
  3. 1892Born hereE. Alice Taylor is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Alexander, decade by decade

Today1 recent
ARMap-doton-Alexander2005ARMap-doton-Alexander
On the map

Alexander on the map, 1935 to 1994

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Alexander. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Alexander on the 1935 USGS mapAlexander on the 1944 USGS mapAlexander on the 1954 USGS mapAlexander on the 1970 USGS mapAlexander on the 1986 USGS mapAlexander on the 1994 USGS map1935Alexander sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Alexander.

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Alexander’s post office has been open since 1873.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Woodland Hills
Gone or out of use
Salasco Sanitariumhospital
1cemetery inside Alexander
Alexander

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Shannon HillsIts storyD−Bryant1 historic placeC−Little Rock279 historic placesA−

Questions about Alexander’s history

What year was Alexander founded?

The Alexander post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1887.

How does Alexander rank for history?

Alexander is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns, #105 of 123 in Arkansas. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Alexander?

0.0% of Alexander’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 2001.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.