The story
Read it all →How Avoca came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Avoca.
Avoca was platted in 1881. A post office called Avoca has been in operation since 1872.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Avoca
Avoca’s post office opened in 1872
Most of Avoca was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: maps from 1958 on and the census since 1970.
1872first post office
0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Avoca began
When was Avoca founded?
1872
The Avoca post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 173 in 19702020 census: 487154 years
Founding year: the first Avoca post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Avoca’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Avoca’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Avoca’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.By decade
Avoca, decade by decade
Today2 recent
2013
2005On the map
Avoca on the map, 1958 to 1976
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Avoca. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1958Pea Ridge sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Avoca.
People over time
Avoca, census by census
Between 173 and 488 people in every census since 1970.
6 censuses, 1970–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Avoca’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Avoca
Nobody well known was born in Avoca itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Questions about Avoca’s history
What year was Avoca founded?
The Avoca post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.