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History · Altus

Altus’ post office opened in 1875, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

7 places in town are on the National Register. Below: maps from 1887 on and the census since 1880.

1875first post office
7on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Altus began

When was Altus founded?

1875

The Altus post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 224 in 18802020 census: 665151 years
Founding year: the first Altus post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Altus’ 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 Altus are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18873 editions of the USGS map, 1887 to 1993. Watch Altus change.Landmarks on the Register7 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Altus’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Altus’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

Altus on the map, 1887 to 1993

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

Altus on the 1887 USGS mapAltus on the 1966 USGS mapAltus on the 1993 USGS map1887Magazine Mountain #2 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 Altus.

On the National Register

7 historic places in Altus

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
7
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, built 1902German-American BankO'Kane-Jacobs HouseMissouri-Pacific Depot-AltusCenter Cross SchoolAltus Well Shed-GazeboJohnson County Line-Ozark-Crawford County Line Road, Altus Segment
BuildingsStructures
Our Lady of Perpetual Help ChurchBuilt 1902
German-American BankBuilding
O'Kane-Jacobs HouseBuilding
Missouri-Pacific Depot-AltusBuilding
Center Cross SchoolBuilding
Altus Well Shed-GazeboStructure
Johnson County Line-Ozark-Crawford County Line Road, Altus SegmentStructure

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Altus came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Altus.

Read it all →

Altus had its start in 1875 when the railroad was extended to that point. Altus station was the highest point on the track. In recognition of this highest railroad elevation between Little Rock and Fort Smith, the station was originally known as "Summit". The town's initial development was due to railroad efforts encouraging German immigration to settle lands adjacent to the railroad. In 1903, the railroad mainline was shifted to a more favorable alignment along the Arkansas River. The track through Altus was removed in the 1930s, but the railroad station has been preserved as a commercial establishment.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Altus, 1875 to 1905

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1875Post officeThe Altus post office opens
  3. 1887On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1902BuiltOur Lady of Perpetual Help Church is built
  6. 1905Born hereJanice Holt Giles is born here
By decade

Altus, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Altus, AR city hall2023Altus, AR city hallAltus Grape Festival 0022013Altus Grape Festival 002Altus Grape Festival - Local Entertainment I2013Altus Grape Festival - Local Entertainment IHighway 64 out of2007Highway 64 out ofGrape harvest in2007Grape harvest in
Every building

Altus, 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.

Altus 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

Altus, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 817

Between 224 and 817 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Wiederkehr VillageIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDenningIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Altus’ history

What year was Altus founded?

The Altus post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Altus?

7 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church (listed 1976, the first), and 2 structures.

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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (7), 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.