Crossett’s post office opened in 1902, and 5 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 23% of U.S. towns · #85 of 123 in Arkansas. What drives it
Most of Crossett was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1908 on, and the census since 1910.
The Crossett post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1903. Another post office, Normandy (1879), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 2,038 in 19102020 census: 4,822124 years
How historic is Crossett?
C−
More historic than 23% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Crossett post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1903.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Crossett’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Crossett is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #85 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 Crossett’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 Crossett’s 10.8 sits near the middle of its state (44% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 5 listings outnumber those of 70% 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 (±4.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1903 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Crossett’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Edward Savage Crossett (1828–1910) moved to Davenport, Iowa in 1875. He became a member of the trading firm of Renwick, Shaw and Crossett. In 1882, Crossett made his first investment in a southern pine forest. In 1886 he sold his interest in the Renwick business, taking 10,000 acres of Arkansas land covered in yellow pines in payment. With fellow Iowans Charles Warner Gates and Dr. John Wenzel Watzek as investors in 1899, the Crossett Lumber Company was organized. Crossett was elected vice president of the society at its organizational meeting. Charles Gates' brother, Edgar Woodward "Cap" Gates, was sent to southern Arkansas to oversee construction of the mills and a new community, which his associates named in honor of Edward Savage Crossett.
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 Crossett. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1973Crossett North 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 Crossett.
Every building
Crossett, 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 Crossett post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1903.
How does Crossett rank for history?
Crossett is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #85 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 Crossett?
5 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Crossett Post Office (listed 2003, the first).
How old are the homes in Crossett?
5% of Crossett’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.0 points), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 1970.
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), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikipedia, 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), 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.
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