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DHistory
History · Barling

Barling’s post office opened in 1890

More historic than 9% of U.S. towns · #105 of 123 in Arkansas. What drives it

Most of Barling was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: maps from 1887 on and the census since 1960.

1890first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Barling began

When was Barling founded?

1890

The Barling post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1956.

First census: 770 in 19602020 census: 4,782136 years

How historic is Barling?

D

More historic than 9% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Barling post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1956.
History grade

What drives Barling’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Barling 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 Barling’s overall grade.
Founding era1890, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±0.7) · typical AR town 3.1% · U.S. 8.4%D−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical AR town 20.5 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 9%
NewerOlder
Arkansas towns of 2,500+ (123)Ahead of 15%

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 Barling’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 (±0.7 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1956.

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 Barling’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 Barling are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18875 editions of the USGS map, 1887 to 1987. Watch Barling change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Barling’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Barling on the map, 1887 to 1987

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

Barling on the 1887 USGS mapBarling on the 1947 USGS mapBarling on the 1951 USGS mapBarling on the 1971 USGS mapBarling on the 1987 USGS map1887Van Buren 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 Barling.

The story so far

Barling, in brief

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

Barling is a city in Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 Census the population was 4,782, ranking it eighth in the Greater Fort Smith Area. Barling was incorporated in 1956.

Its first post office opened in 1890. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 4,649 to 4,782 (+3%).

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

Timeline

Barling, 1887 to 1973

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1890Post officeThe Barling post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1931Born hereHal Smith is born here
  6. 1973Post officeThe Barling post office closes
By decade

Barling, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Highway 22 near Highway 2552016Highway 22 near Highway 255Highway 22 in Barling, AR 0032016Highway 22 in Barling, AR 003Highway 22 in Barling, AR 0022016Highway 22 in Barling, AR 002Highway 22 in Barling, AR 0012016Highway 22 in Barling, AR 001Highway 22 at Highway 5492016Highway 22 at Highway 549ARMap-doton-Barling2005ARMap-doton-Barling
People over time

Barling, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,00019601980200020204,782

Grew from 770 people in 1960 to 4,782 in 2020, 6 times over.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Barling had its own post office from 1890 to 1973.

Barling
1890–1973
18901960today
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Barling
BarlingLaura A NolanMc AllisterWhite and Shelby

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Fort Smith47 historic placesA−Central CityIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Barling’s history

What year was Barling founded?

The Barling post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1956.

How does Barling rank for history?

Barling 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 Barling?

0.0% of Barling’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 1988.

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 (6), 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) 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.