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BHistory
History · Atkins

Atkins dates to 1872, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns · #26 of 123 in Arkansas. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 25 buildings. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1880.

1872founded
2on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Atkins’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Atkins began

When was Atkins founded?

1872

Atkins dates its founding to 1872 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 519 in 18802020 census: 2,859154 years

How historic is Atkins?

B

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Atkins’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Atkins is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #26 of 123 in Arkansas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Atkins’ overall grade.
Founding era1872, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194012.6% of homes (±7.7) · typical AR town 3.1% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register2 listings, 26 historic buildings, 90.4 per 10,000 residents · typical AR town 20.5 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 63%
NewerOlder
Arkansas towns of 2,500+ (123)Ahead of 80%

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 Atkins’ 90.4 sits above most of its state (83% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 26 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.7 points). Two sources give 1872.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Atkins’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18894 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1989. Watch Atkins change.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1886 to 1913, drew every building in Atkins.A historic districtThe Atkins Commercial Historic District takes in 25 historic buildings.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Atkins’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBird's eye view of Atkins, Arkansas, fr…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Atkins on the map, 1889 to 1989

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

Atkins on the 1889 USGS mapAtkins on the 1961 USGS mapAtkins on the 1979 USGS mapAtkins on the 1989 USGS map1889Morrilton No 3 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 Atkins.

Every building

Atkins, building by building, 1886–1913

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 year, then a sheet.

Atkins fire insurance map, 1886, sheet 11886Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

The story

How Atkins came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Atkins.

Read it all →

The town is named after Elisha Atkins, a Boston sugar importer who financed the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad which spawned the growth of the town after the Civil War. It was formally platted in 1872. Atkins built its first school in 1875 and boasted its own newspaper, the Atkins Chronicle in 1894. The town served as a local cotton depot with a number of cotton gins operating in town. The 1927 flooding of the Arkansas River damaged the town and subsequent road buildings gradually shifted the town to orient northwards away from the river.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Atkins, 1872 to 1949

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872
    FoundingAtkins is established
  3. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900In the archiveBird's eye view of Atkins, Arkansas, from Crow Mt., height 600 ft
  6. 1902Born hereFred Bennett is born here
  7. 1914Born hereEllis Kinder is born here
  8. 1920Born hereErnestine Hogan Basham Thurman is born here
  9. 1935In the archiveDemonstrating process of canning corn at community canning kitchen near Atkins, Arkansas
  10. 1949Born hereNorris Church Mailer is born here
By decade

Atkins, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1930s4 items
Bird's eye view of Atkins, Arkansas, from Crow Mt., height 600 ft1900Bird's eye view of Atkins, Arkansas, from Crow Mt., h…Demonstrating process of canning corn at community canning kitchen near Atkins, Arkansas1935Demonstrating process of canning corn at community ca…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Demonstrating process of canning corn at community canning kitchen near Atkins, Ar…1935Untitled photo, possibly related to: Demonstrating pr…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Demonstrating process of canning corn at community canning kitchen near Atkins, Ar…1935Untitled photo, possibly related to: Demonstrating pr…
1940s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today14 recent
FEMA - 34181 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken on 02-09-2008 in Arkansas2008FEMA - 34181 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken …FEMA - 34180 - FEMA Community Relation representatives2008FEMA - 34180 - FEMA Community Relation representativesFEMA - 34179 - FEMA community relations worker in the field in Arkansas2008FEMA - 34179 - FEMA community relations worker in the…FEMA - 34178 - FEMA community relations worker in the field talking with a resident in Arkansas2008FEMA - 34178 - FEMA community relations worker in the…FEMA - 34177 - FEMA Community Relations worker speaks with a resident in Arkansas2008FEMA - 34177 - FEMA Community Relations worker speaks…FEMA - 34176 - FEMA Community Relations representative in Arkansas2008FEMA - 34176 - FEMA Community Relations representativ…FEMA - 34174 - FEMA community relations worker in Arkansas2008FEMA - 34174 - FEMA community relations worker in Ark…FEMA - 34173 - FEMA Community Relations worker in Arkansas2008FEMA - 34173 - FEMA Community Relations worker in Ark…FEMA - 34172 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken on 02-09-2008 in Arkansas2008FEMA - 34172 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken …FEMA - 34170 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken on 02-09-2008 in Arkansas2008FEMA - 34170 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken …FEMA - 34169 - FEMA Community Relations worker speaks with a resident in Arkansas2008FEMA - 34169 - FEMA Community Relations worker speaks…FEMA - 34168 - FEMA community relations workers in Arkansas2008FEMA - 34168 - FEMA community relations workers in Ar…Atkinstorn2008AtkinstornARMap-doton-Atkins2005ARMap-doton-Atkins
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Bird's eye view of Atkins, Arkansas, from Crow Mt., height 600 ft
Retake this viewBird's eye view of Atkins, Arkansas, from Crow Mt., height 600 ft, 1900

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Atkins’ page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 listings protect 26 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
26
each building in a district counts
first listed
1992
Missouri-Pacific Depot-Atkins
Missouri-Pacific Depot-AtkinsAtkins Commercial Historic District
BuildingsDistricts
Missouri-Pacific Depot-AtkinsBuilding
Atkins Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict

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

People over time

Atkins, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,016

Between 519 and 3,016 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Atkins

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

See all →
Norris Church MailerAmerican writer; widow of Norman Mailer · b. 1949
F
Fred BennettBaseball player · b. 1902
Ellis KinderAmerican baseball player · b. 1914
E
Ernestine Hogan Basham ThurmanAmerican entomologist and researcher · b. 1920
K
Kay EakinAmerican football player · b. 1917
Wilson MatthewsAmerican football player · b. 1921

Questions about Atkins’ history

What year was Atkins founded?

In 1872, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1880 counted 519 people here.

How does Atkins rank for history?

Atkins is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #26 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 Atkins?

Two places: the Missouri-Pacific Depot-Atkins (listed 1992) and the Atkins Commercial Historic District (2009).

How old are the homes in Atkins?

13% of Atkins’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.7 points), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 1975.

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 (14), the Library of Congress (4), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.