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History · Dell

Dell’s post office opened in 1897, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Dell was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1968. Below: maps from 1941 on and the census since 1910.

1897first post office
1on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Dell began

When was Dell founded?

1897

The Dell post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 162 in 19102020 census: 194129 years
Founding year: the first Dell post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Dell’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 Dell are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 384 in 1950; 194 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dell’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dell’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

Dell, census by census

0100200300400192019401960198020002020Peak: 384

Peaked at 384 in 1950; 194 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Dell came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dell.

Read it all →

Dell has its origins in a community that developed around a loading dock and post office operated by J.B. Richardson in the late 1890s. When the Jonesboro, Lake City and Eastern Railroad completed a rail line through the area, a town was laid out near the tracks. The town was initially known as "Rozell" after an early landowner, but due to naming conflicts with a nearby community known as "Rochelle", the name was changed to "Dell". The town incorporated in 1905.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Dell, 1897 to 1950

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1897Post officeThe Dell post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1941On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1948Born hereEddie Moss is born here
  6. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 384
By decade

Dell, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Dell-Town-Hall-ar2018Dell-Town-Hall-arDell-Post-Office-ar2018Dell-Post-Office-arDell-Fire-Department-ar2018Dell-Fire-Department-arDell-Cypress-Park-Trail-entrance-ar2018Dell-Cypress-Park-Trail-entrance-arDell-Cafe-Convenience-Store-ar2018Dell-Cafe-Convenience-Store-ar
On the map

Dell on the map, 1941 to 1983

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

Dell on the 1941 USGS mapDell on the 1956 USGS mapDell on the 1983 USGS map1941Manila 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 Dell.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Dell

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
2007
Widner-Magers Farm Historic District
Districts
Widner-Magers Farm Historic DistrictDistrict

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

Questions about Dell’s history

What year was Dell founded?

The Dell post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Dell?

One place: the Widner-Magers Farm Historic District (listed 2007).

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