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History · Black Oak

Black Oak’s post office opened in 1902

Most of Black Oak was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: maps from 1941 on and the census since 1930.

1902first post office
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Thomas R Machnitzki ([email protected]) · CC BY 3.0
Quick answers

How Black Oak began

When was Black Oak founded?

1902

The Black Oak post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Dwight (1899), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 302 in 19302020 census: 233124 years
Founding year: the first Black Oak post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Black Oak’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 Black Oak are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Black Oak’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Black Oak’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
The story so far

Black Oak, in brief

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

Black Oak is a town in Craighead County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 233 in the 2020 census. It is included in the Jonesboro, Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1902. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 262 to 233 (-11%).

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

Timeline

Black Oak, 1899 to 1941

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1899Post officeThe Dwight post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1902Post officeThe Dwight post office closes
  5. 1902Post officeThe Black Oak post office opens
  6. 1926Born hereLeon Blevins is born here
  7. 1941On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Black Oak, decade by decade

Today10 recent
Black Oak AR 0092011Black Oak AR 009Black Oak AR 0082011Black Oak AR 008Black Oak AR 0072011Black Oak AR 007Black Oak AR 0062011Black Oak AR 006Black Oak AR 0052011Black Oak AR 005Black Oak AR 0042011Black Oak AR 004Black Oak AR 0032011Black Oak AR 003Black Oak AR 0022011Black Oak AR 002Black Oak AR 0012011Black Oak AR 001ARMap-doton-Black Oak2005ARMap-doton-Black Oak
On the map

Black Oak on the map, 1941 to 1983

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

Black Oak on the 1941 USGS mapBlack Oak on the 1956 USGS mapBlack Oak on the 1983 USGS map1941Leachville 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 Black Oak.

People over time

Black Oak, census by census

010020030019401960198020002020Peak: 329

Between 220 and 329 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Black Oak’s post office has been open since 1902. Another post office, Dwight, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Dwight
1899–1902
Black Oak
1902–today
18901960today
Gone or out of use
Black Oak Schoolschool

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

Questions about Black Oak’s history

What year was Black Oak founded?

The Black Oak post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (10), 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.