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History · Appleton

Appleton’s post office opened in 1879

Most of Appleton was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. Below: maps from 1889 on.

1879first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Appleton began, and where its name came from

When was Appleton founded?

1879

The Appleton post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Sulphur Springs (1848) and Griffin (1885), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 399147 years

How did Appleton get its name?

Appleton was named for an apple orchard that surrounded an early drug store.

Founding year: the first Appleton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

What stands out about Appleton’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 Appleton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18893 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1983. Watch Appleton change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Appleton.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Appleton’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Appleton on the map, 1889 to 1983

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

Appleton on the 1889 USGS mapAppleton on the 1892 USGS mapAppleton on the 1983 USGS map1889Morrilton No 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 Appleton.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Appleton had its own post office from 1879 to 1968. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Sulphur Springs
1848–1851
Appleton
1879–1968
Griffin
1885–1887
18401930today
Gone or out of use
Appleton Post Officepost officeAppleton Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Appleton
KinslowSulphur Springs

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

The story so far

Appleton, in brief

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

Appleton is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Griffin Township, Pope County, Arkansas, United States. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census with a population of 399. The town contained a post office from 1879 until 1968. It was named for an apple orchard that surrounded an early drug store.

Its first post office opened in 1879.

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

Timeline

Appleton, 1848 to 1968

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1848Post officeThe Sulphur Springs post office opens
  3. 1851Post officeThe Sulphur Springs post office closes
  4. 1879Post officeThe Appleton post office opens
  5. 1885Post officeThe Griffin post office opens
  6. 1887Post officeThe Griffin post office closes
  7. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 20th century
  9. 1968Post officeThe Appleton post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Questions about Appleton’s history

What year was Appleton founded?

The Appleton post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 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.