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History · De Valls Bluff

De Valls Bluff dates to 1856, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1864 on.

1856founded
4on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From De Valls Bluff’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How De Valls Bluff began

When was De Valls Bluff founded?

1856

De Valls Bluff dates its founding to 1856 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1851.

2020 census: 520170 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1851.The full story ↓

What stands out about De Valls Bluff’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start De Valls Bluff’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how De Valls Bluff’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewDuvall's Bluffs, Prairie Co., Arkansas.…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

4 historic places in De Valls Bluff

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1995
Prairie County Courthouse
Prairie County CourthouseCastleberry HotelDe Valls Bluff Waterworks, built 1936St. Elizabeth's Catholic Church
BuildingsStructures
Prairie County CourthouseBuilding
Castleberry HotelBuilding
De Valls Bluff WaterworksBuilt 1936
St. Elizabeth's Catholic ChurchBuilding

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

The story

How De Valls Bluff came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of De Valls Bluff.

Read it all →

Prairie County has always been important to Arkansas for the transportation of people and goods throughout the state. Initially, it was the White River that gave the agricultural county its importance for transport, since waterways were the primary means of long-distance transportation in the period before the development of railroads. Prairie County was cut from Arkansas, Pulaski, Monroe, St. Francis, and White counties in 1846 and included present-day Lonoke County. European settlement in Prairie County came in the 19th century, with Jacob M. DeVall and his son, Chappel, becoming the first recorded settlers around DeVall's Bluff according to 1851 tax records.

ChaptersCivil War

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

De Valls Bluff, 1851 to 1936

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1851Post officeThe Duvall's Bluff post office opens
  3. 1856
    FoundingDe Valls Bluff is established
  4. 1856Post officeThe Duvall's Bluff post office closes
  5. 1856Post officeThe De Vall Bluff post office opens
  6. 1864In the archiveDuvall's Bluffs, Prairie Co., Arkansas. Depot of supplies of the army of the southwest
  7. 20th century
  8. 1917Born hereArbee Stidham is born here
  9. 1936BuiltDe Valls Bluff Waterworks is built
By decade

De Valls Bluff, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s1 item
Duvall's Bluffs, Prairie Co., Arkansas. Depot of supplies of the army of the southwest1864Duvall's Bluffs, Prairie Co., Arkansas. Depot of supp…
Today5 recent
Sign for Craig's BBQ in DeValls Bluff, AR2013Sign for Craig's BBQ in DeValls Bluff, ARDe Valls Bluff2013De Valls BluffCastleberry Hotel in De Valls Bluff, AR 0012013Castleberry Hotel in De Valls Bluff, AR 001Castleberry Hotel 0012013Castleberry Hotel 001FEMA - 34660 - Partially submerged park sign in Arkansas2008FEMA - 34660 - Partially submerged park sign in Arkan…
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Duvall's Bluffs, Prairie Co., Arkansas. Depot of supplies of the army of the southwest
Retake this viewDuvall's Bluffs, Prairie Co., Arkansas. Depot of supplies of the army of the southwest, 1864

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on De Valls Bluff’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Another post office, Duvall's Bluff, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Duvall's Bluff
1851–1856
De Vall Bluff
1856–today
18501940today
1cemetery inside De Valls Bluff
Oakland

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

Questions about De Valls Bluff’s history

What year was De Valls Bluff founded?

In 1856, according to Wikidata. De Valls Bluff’s post office opened in 1851.

What is on the National Register in De Valls Bluff?

4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Prairie County Courthouse (listed 1995, the first), and 1 structure.

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.