Arkadelphia’s post office opened in 1843, and 21 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 74% of U.S. towns · #14 of 123 in Arkansas. What drives it
Most of Arkadelphia was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. 21 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 38 buildings between them. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: the first Arkadelphia post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1857.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Arkadelphia’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Arkadelphia is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #14 of 123 in Arkansas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Arkadelphia’s overall grade.
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 Arkadelphia’s 62.4 sits above most of its state (74% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 63 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1857.
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 Arkadelphia’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Arkadelphia, building by building, 1886–1918
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 year, then a sheet.
The area that became Arkadelphia was inhabited by Indigenous peoples before European-American settlement, including Caddo and Quapaw peoples in the broader region. The site of modern Arkadelphia developed on a bluff overlooking the Ouachita River. In 1809, Adam Blakely established a blacksmith shop at the site, which became known as Blakelytown.
In 1811, John Hemphill began operating a salt works nearby, often described as one of Arkansas's earliest manufacturing establishments. By 1812, Jacob Barkman had opened river traffic on the Ouachita River to New Orleans, first by pirogue and later by keelboat.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Arkadelphia post office opened in 1843, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1857.
How does Arkadelphia rank for history?
Arkadelphia is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #14 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.
What is on the National Register in Arkadelphia?
21 listings: 16 buildings, among them the Magnolia Manor (listed 1972, the first), 2 historic districts, the Arkadelphia Commercial Historic District and the Henderson State University Historic District, with 38 contributing buildings, 1 site, 1 structure, and 1 object. 63 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Arkadelphia?
7% of Arkadelphia’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 1984.
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 (19), Wikidata (5), the National Register of Historic Places (21), 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.
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