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History · Donaldson

Donaldson’s post office opened in 1873

Most of Donaldson was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: maps from 1964 on and the census since 2000.

1873first post office
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Quick answers

How Donaldson began

When was Donaldson founded?

1873

The Donaldson post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 326 in 20002020 census: 275153 years
Founding year: the first Donaldson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Donaldson’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 Donaldson are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Donaldson’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Donaldson’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Donaldson, in brief

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

Donaldson is a town in Hot Spring County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 275 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1873. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 301 to 275 (-9%).

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

Timeline

Donaldson, 1873 to 1964

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Post officeThe Donaldson post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1901Born hereCarey Selph is born here
  5. 1964On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Donaldson, decade by decade

Today6 recent
US 67 over railroad tracks in2026US 67 over railroad tracks inUntitled photo2026Untitled photoDowntown2026DowntownDonaldson, AR City Hall2026Donaldson, AR City HallUntitled photo2026Untitled photoARMap-doton-Donaldson2005ARMap-doton-Donaldson
On the map

Donaldson on the map, 1964 to 1984

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

Donaldson on the 1964 USGS mapDonaldson on the 1984 USGS map1964Donaldson 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 Donaldson.

People over time

Donaldson, census by census

010020030020002020Peak: 326

Between 275 and 326 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Questions about Donaldson’s history

What year was Donaldson founded?

The Donaldson post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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), 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.