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Cave SpringsPhoto: ArkansasNationalist · CC BY-SA 4.0
C−History
History · Cave Springs

Cave Springs’ post office opened in 1908, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 20% of U.S. towns · #91 of 123 in Arkansas. What drives it

Most of Cave Springs was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2012. Its Register listings are the Shores Warehouse and the Rife House. Below: maps from 1970 on and the census since 1930.

1908first post office
2on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Cave Springs began

When was Cave Springs founded?

1908

The Cave Springs post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 192 in 19302020 census: 5,495118 years

How historic is Cave Springs?

C−

More historic than 20% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Cave Springs’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cave Springs is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #91 of 123 in Arkansas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cave Springs’ overall grade.
Founding era1908, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19405.2% of homes (±4.5) · typical AR town 3.1% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register2 listings, 3.3 per 10,000 residents · typical AR town 20.5 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 20%
NewerOlder
Arkansas towns of 2,500+ (123)Ahead of 26%

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 Cave Springs’ 3.3 sits below most of its state (30% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.5 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 Cave Springs’ 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 Cave Springs are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cave Springs’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cave Springs’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

Cave Springs, in brief

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

Cave Springs is a city in Benton County, Arkansas. The population was 5,495 at the time of the 2020 census, up from 1,729 in 2010 census. It is part of the Northwest Arkansas metropolitan area. In June 2022, Cave Springs was named the 3rd highest average home values in the state of Arkansas.

Its first post office opened in 1908. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,729 to 5,495 (+218%).

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

Timeline

Cave Springs, 1850 to 1977

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850Born hereHugh A. Dinsmore is born here
  3. 20th century
  4. 1908Post officeThe Cave Springs post office opens
  5. 1970On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1977Born hereBart Hester is born here
By decade

Cave Springs, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Lake Keith2020Lake KeithCave Springs2020Cave SpringsShores Warehouse2015Shores WarehouseIntersection of AR-112 and AR-2642013Intersection of AR-112 and AR-264Cave Springs City Hall, Arkansas2013Cave Springs City Hall, ArkansasARMap-doton-Cave Springs2005ARMap-doton-Cave Springs
On the map

Cave Springs on the map, 1970 to 1982

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

Cave Springs on the 1970 USGS mapCave Springs on the 1982 USGS map1970Bentonville South sheet · 1:24,000

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

On the National Register

2 historic places in Cave Springs

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1988
Shores Warehouse
Shores WarehouseRife House
Buildings
Shores WarehouseBuilding
All 2 listings
Rife HouseBuilding · listed 1988

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

People over time

Cave Springs, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,000194019601980200020205,495

Grew from 192 people in 1930 to 5,495 in 2020, more than tenfold.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Cave Springs

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Hugh A. DinsmoreAmerican politician · b. 1850
Bart HesterAmerican politician · b. 1977
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Cave Springs’s post office has been open since 1908.

Gone or out of use
Cave Spring Milllocale
1cemetery inside Cave Springs
Baptist

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.

Rogers24 historic placesCSpringdale13 historic placesB−Bentonville37 historic placesB−Lowell3 historic placesC−

Questions about Cave Springs’ history

What year was Cave Springs founded?

The Cave Springs post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Cave Springs rank for history?

Cave Springs is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #91 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 Cave Springs?

Two places: the Shores Warehouse (listed 1988) and the Rife House (1988).

How old are the homes in Cave Springs?

5% of Cave Springs’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 points), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 2012.

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), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.