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DHistory
History · Alma

Alma’s post office opened in 1871

More historic than 13% of U.S. towns · #100 of 123 in Arkansas. What drives it

Most of Alma was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. Below: maps from 1906 on and the census since 1880.

1871first post office
0on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Alma began

When was Alma founded?

1871

The Alma post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1874.

First census: 504 in 18802020 census: 5,825155 years

How historic is Alma?

D

More historic than 13% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Alma post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1874.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Alma’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Alma is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #100 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 Alma’s overall grade.
Founding era1871, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.2% of homes (±1.6) · typical AR town 3.1% · U.S. 8.4%DNational 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 13%
NewerOlder
Arkansas towns of 2,500+ (123)Ahead of 19%

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 Alma’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 C−. The pre-1940 share (±1.6 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1874 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 Alma’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 Alma are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19065 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1987. Watch Alma change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Alma’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Alma’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
On the map

Alma on the map, 1906 to 1987

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

Alma on the 1906 USGS mapAlma on the 1947 USGS mapAlma on the 1951 USGS mapAlma on the 1971 USGS mapAlma on the 1987 USGS map1906Lavaca 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 Alma.

The story

How Alma came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Alma.

Read it all →

Alma was incorporated in 1874. Its economy was largely agricultural until the introduction of the canning industry. Today, the city claims the title of "Spinach Capital of the World".

In his book Washington Goes to War (1996), David Brinkley described Alma's participation in the World War II effort:

In the town of Alma, Arkansas (population 776), one-fourth of the girls in the 1944 high school graduating class signed up to leave for Washington, and several of their teachers cast aside their low-paying jobs and went with them, all of them climbing aboard a Pullman car for their first train ride, looking for more money and excitement than they had any reasonable expectation of finding in Alma.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Alma, 1871 to 1982

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Alma post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1906On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1950Born hereCharlene Fite is born here
  6. 1982Born hereKiley Dean is born here
By decade

Alma, decade by decade

Today20 recent
Alma, AR 0102016Alma, AR 010Alma, AR 0092016Alma, AR 009Alma, AR 0082016Alma, AR 008Alma, AR 0072016Alma, AR 007Alma, AR 0052016Alma, AR 005Alma, AR 0042016Alma, AR 004Willin-N-Able perform with Ms. Laura2014Willin-N-Able perform with Ms. LauraThe Band Willin-N-Able in2014The Band Willin-N-Able inThe Band Willin-N-Able2014The Band Willin-N-AbleSteve joins the band Willin-N-Able2014Steve joins the band Willin-N-AbleMusical Performance in Fort Smith, Arkansas2014Musical Performance in Fort Smith, ArkansasMiss Laura joins Willin-N-Able2014Miss Laura joins Willin-N-AbleLive Music Entertains Crowd outside of Fort Smith, AR2014Live Music Entertains Crowd outside of Fort Smith, ARJ.P. Soars joins the band Willin-N-Able2014J.P. Soars joins the band Willin-N-AbleBoyce Worrord joins Willin-N-Able2014Boyce Worrord joins Willin-N-AbleBlues Great Bob Margolin in2014Blues Great Bob Margolin inSouthfork Street2011Southfork StreetI 540 begins concurring with I-40 near2011I 540 begins concurring with I-40 near2010 Census Urbanized Area Reference Map for Fort Smith, Arkansas--Oklahoma20102010 Census Urbanized Area Reference Map for Fort Smi…BookARMap-doton-Alma2005ARMap-doton-Alma
Every building

Alma, building by building, 1913

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Alma fire insurance map, 1913, sheet 11913Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

People over time

Alma, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,500188019001920194019601980200020205,825

Grew from 504 people in 1880 to 5,825 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Alma’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Alma

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Kiley DeanAmerican musician · b. 1982
C
Charlene FiteArkansas educator and state legislator · b. 1950

Questions about Alma’s history

What year was Alma founded?

The Alma post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1874.

How does Alma rank for history?

Alma is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #100 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 Alma?

1% of Alma’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 points), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 1996.

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 (20), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.