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History · Bellefonte

Bellefonte’s post office opened in 1871, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Missouri and North Arkansas Depot-Bellefonte. Below: maps from 1904 on and the census since 1880.

1871first post office

1on the National Register

27%homes built before 1940

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Quick answers

How Bellefonte began

When was Bellefonte founded?

1871

The Bellefonte post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 296 in 18802020 census: 411155 years

Founding year: the first Bellefonte post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Bellefonte’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 Bellefonte are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19043 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1985. Watch Bellefonte change.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bellefonte’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

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On the map

Bellefonte on the map, 1904 to 1985

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

1904Harrison sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bellefonte.

The story

How Bellefonte came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bellefonte.

Read it all →

The area known as Bellefonte was originally settled by a few families. The community expanded when two stores were established. The community got its name as campers noted the beautiful springs. It was suggested the area be called "Bellefonte", French for "beautiful fountains."

As there were no church organizations in the settlement, services were originally held in private homes. Circuit riders generally provided the services.

Bellefonte grew rapidly by the second half of the 1860s. A post office was established.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bellefonte, 1871 to 1965

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

19th century
1871Post officeThe Bellefonte post office opens
20th century
1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1965Post officeThe Bellefonte post office closes

By decade

Bellefonte, decade by decade

Today2 recent

2016Bellefonte, AR 001

2005ARMap-doton-Bellefonte

On the National Register

1 historic place in Bellefonte

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

place listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1992

Missouri and North Arkansas Depot-Bellefonte

Buildings

All 1 listings

Missouri and North Arkansas Depot-BellefonteBuilding · listed 1992

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

People over time

Bellefonte, census by census

Between 296 and 530 people in every census since 1880.

7 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Bellefonte

Nobody well known was born in Bellefonte itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →

Helen Gurley BrownAmerican author, publisher, and businesswoman · b. 1922

Davis Tutt19th-century American Old West gambler · b. 1836

John Paul HammerschmidtAmerican politician · b. 1922

David Crockett GrahamAmerican Baptist missionary, anthropologist, ed… · b. 1884

Gracie PfostAmerican politician · b. 1906

Jack WilliamsUnited States Navy Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1924

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Bellefonte had its own post office from 1871 to 1965.

Bellefonte

1871–1965

18701950today

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

Questions about Bellefonte’s history

What year was Bellefonte founded?

The Bellefonte post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Bellefonte?

One place: the Missouri and North Arkansas Depot-Bellefonte (listed 1992).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →

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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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.

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