More historic than 9% of U.S. towns · #105 of 123 in Arkansas. What drives it
Most of Austin was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2008. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1982 on, and the census since 1900.
Founding year: the first Austin post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1873.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Austin’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Austin is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns, #105 of 123 in Arkansas. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Austin’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 Austin’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (11% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1873 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Austin’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The city was first settled c. 1872 when the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway built its tracks approximately one mile southeast of Old Austin. Many residents of Old Austin moved near the railroad tracks, in some cases uprooting and transporting entire buildings. The new city forming near the tracks was originally known as "Austin Station" to distinguish it from the original Austin, but eventually became known as Austin while the old community became known as "Old Austin".
Passages that mention Austin, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Unveiling and dedication of monument to Hood's Texas brigade on the capitol grounds at Austin, Texas, Thursday, October twenty-seven, nineteen hundred and ten, and minutes of the thirty-ninth annual reunion of Hood's Texas brigade association held in Sena1911 · page 30Read the page →
Read the text
In honor of which the city of Austin, through duly accredited officers, gives out following: FINAL PARADE DETAIL.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Unveiling and dedication of monument to Hood's Texas brigade on the capitol grounds at Austin, Texas, Thursday, October twenty-seven, nineteen hundred and ten, and minutes of the thirty-ninth annual reunion of Hood's Texas brigade association held in Sena1911 · page 31Read the page →
Read the text
In one of the largest parades that the city of Austin has ever feen in her history, the survivors of the Hood's Texas Brigade were escorted up the avenue to the capitol grounds where the unveiling ceremonies of the monument took place.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Austin, 1861 to 2020
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born 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 Austin post office opened in 1861, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1873.
How does Austin rank for history?
Austin is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns, #105 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.
How old are the homes in Austin?
0.0% of Austin’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 2008.
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 (1), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2016
