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History · Alpena

Alpena dates to 1908, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

1908founded
0on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Brandonrush · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Alpena began

When was Alpena founded?

1908

Alpena dates its founding to 1908 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1901.

2020 census: 374118 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1901.The full story ↓

What stands out about Alpena’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 Alpena are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Alpena.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Alpena’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Alpena’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Alpena’s post office has been open since 1950. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Alpena Pass
1901–1950
Estes
1901–1901
Alpena
1950–today
19001960today

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

The story

How Alpena came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Alpena.

Read it all →

Alpena Pass was founded in 1908 on top of a graveyard shortly after the Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad was built through Boone County. In the 1950s, the word "pass" was dropped from the name, thus creating the current name, Alpena.

At the time of the town's founding, the town of Carrollton was in decline. Many of the buildings of Carrollton were disassembled, moved and reassembled at Alpena Pass. MADtv's Rice and Beans Tour once came through the town, doing a tongue-in-cheek exposé about rural America. They encountered a seemingly drug-intoxicated woman and had an interview with the "mayor".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Alpena, 1901 to 1950

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1901Post officeThe Alpena Pass post office opens
  3. 1901Post officeThe Estes post office opens
  4. 1901Post officeThe Estes post office closes
  5. 1908
    FoundingAlpena is established
  6. 1950Post officeThe Alpena Pass post office closes
  7. 1950Post officeThe Alpena post office opens
By decade

Alpena, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Alpena Pass Pavilion2020Alpena Pass PavilionAlpena Community Center2020Alpena Community CenterHighway 62 in Alpena, AR 0022014Highway 62 in Alpena, AR 002Highway 62 in Alpena, AR 0012014Highway 62 in Alpena, AR 001Alpena2010AlpenaARMap-doton-Alpena2005ARMap-doton-Alpena
Famous people

Famous people close to Alpena

Nobody well known was born in Alpena itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Helen Gurley BrownAmerican author, publisher, and businesswoman · b. 1922
Pat BurrellAmerican professional baseball outfielder · b. 1976
John Paul HammerschmidtAmerican politician · b. 1922
Dalton RisnerAmerican football offensive guard · b. 1995
David Crockett GrahamAmerican Baptist missionary, anthropologist, ed… · b. 1884
Gracie PfostAmerican politician · b. 1906

Questions about Alpena’s history

What year was Alpena founded?

In 1908, according to Wikidata. Alpena’s post office opened in 1901.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, 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.