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History · Bluff City

Bluff City’s post office opened in 1876

Most of Bluff City was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Below: maps from 1901 on and the census since 1970.

1876first post office
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Bluff City began

When was Bluff City founded?

1876

The Bluff City post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 244 in 19702020 census: 118150 years
Founding year: the first Bluff City post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Bluff City’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 Bluff City are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19013 editions of the USGS map, 1901 to 1986. Watch Bluff City change.Boom and bustPeaked at 292 in 1980; 118 people lived here in 2020.
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Start Bluff City’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bluff City’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

Bluff City on the map, 1901 to 1986

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

Bluff City on the 1901 USGS mapBluff City on the 1973 USGS mapBluff City on the 1986 USGS map1901Gurdon 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 Bluff City.

People over time

Bluff City, census by census

0100200300198020002020Peak: 292

Peaked at 292 in 1980; 118 people lived here in 2020.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

The story so far

Bluff City, in brief

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

Bluff City is an unincorporated town (no elected mayor) in Nevada County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 118 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Hope Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1876. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 124 to 118 (-5%).

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

Timeline

Bluff City, 1876 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1876Post officeThe Bluff City post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1901On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 292
By decade

Bluff City, decade by decade

Today1 recent
ARMap-doton-Bluff City2005ARMap-doton-Bluff City

Questions about Bluff City’s history

What year was Bluff City founded?

The Bluff City post office opened in 1876, 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 →
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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 (1), 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.