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History · Colt

Colt’s post office opened in 1883, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Colt was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Its Register listing is the William Stone House. Below: maps from 1939 on and the census since 1920.

1883first post office
1on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Thomas R Machnitzki · CC BY 3.0
Quick answers

How Colt began

When was Colt founded?

1883

The Colt post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Taylor's Creek (1852), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 265 in 19202020 census: 293143 years
Founding year: the first Colt post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Colt’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 Colt are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 394 in 1960; 293 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Colt’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Colt’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
People over time

Colt, census by census

0100200300400192019401960198020002020Peak: 394

Peaked at 394 in 1960; 293 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

The story so far

Colt, in brief

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

Colt is a town in St. Francis County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 293 at the 2020 census, a decrease from 378 in 2010.

Its first post office opened in 1883. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 378 to 293 (-22%).

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

Timeline

Colt, 1852 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1852Post officeThe Taylor's Creek post office opens
  3. 1883Post officeThe Taylor's Creek post office closes
  4. 1883Post officeThe Colt post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1932Born hereCharlie Rich is born here
  7. 1939On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 394
By decade

Colt, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Colt AR 032010Colt AR 03Colt AR 022010Colt AR 02Colt AR 012010Colt AR 01ARMap-doton-Colt2005ARMap-doton-Colt
On the map

Colt on the map, 1939 to 1984

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

Colt on the 1939 USGS mapColt on the 1958 USGS mapColt on the 1984 USGS map1939Wynne 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 Colt.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Colt

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1992
William Stone House
William Stone House
Buildings
All 1 listings
William Stone HouseBuilding · listed 1992

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Colt’s post office has been open since 1883. Another post office, Taylor's Creek, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Taylor's Creek
1852–1883
Colt
1883–today
18501940today

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

Questions about Colt’s history

What year was Colt founded?

The Colt post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Colt?

One place: the William Stone House (listed 1992).

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