Blytheville’s post office opened in 1879, and 7 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 62% of U.S. towns · #28 of 123 in Arkansas. What drives it
7 places in town are on the National Register, among them four historic districts with 524 buildings between them. Most of Blytheville was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1908 on, and the census since 1900.
From Blytheville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Blytheville began
When was Blytheville founded?
1879
The Blytheville post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Chickasawba (1890), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 302 in 19002020 census: 13,406147 years
How historic is Blytheville?
B
More historic than 62% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Blytheville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Blytheville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Blytheville is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #28 of 123 in Arkansas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Blytheville’s overall grade.
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 Blytheville’s 412 sits above most of its state (100% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 527 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Blytheville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Blytheville was founded by Methodist clergyman Henry T. Blythe in 1879. It received a post office the same year, was incorporated in 1889, and became the county seat for the northern half of Mississippi County (Chickasawba District) in 1901. Blytheville received telephone service and electricity in 1903, and natural gas service in 1950.
Forestry was an early industry, spurred by the massive harvesting of lumber needed to rebuild Chicago following the Great Fire of 1871. The lumber industry brought sawmills and a rowdy crowd, and the area was known for its disreputable saloon culture during the 1880s and 1890s. The Paragould Southeastern Railway, which served the logging industry, arrived in town in 1907.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Blytheville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1939Blytheville 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 Blytheville.
Every building
Blytheville, building by building, 1908–1921
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The Blytheville post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Blytheville rank for history?
Blytheville is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #28 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.
What is on the National Register in Blytheville?
7 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Blytheville Greyhound Bus Station (listed 1987, the first), and 4 historic districts with 524 contributing buildings. 527 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Blytheville?
7% of Blytheville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 points), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 (13), the Library of Congress (5), the National Register of Historic Places (7), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1880
c. 1930
1930s
1936
1936
1937
1937
1937
2018
2018
2018
2018
2018
2018
2013
2013
