Most of Earle was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Its Register listings are the Missouri Pacific Depot, the Washington, George Berry, Memorial and the Earle High School, Old. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1913 on, and the census since 1910.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Earle is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Earle’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 Earle’s 19.7 sits near the middle of its state (54% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.3 points).
Founding year: the first census (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 Earle’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The city of Earle originally started as two neighboring communities started in the 1860s, Earle and Norvell. Norvell was originally settled in July 1872 by local doctor James Throgmorton. Earle was a train stop established in the late 1880s on land owned by Josiah Francis Earle, a former Confederate soldier and Klansman. The train stop was established after his death in 1884.
In 1888, a branch of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain, & Southern Railway was built south of Earle. The line still exists as a part of the Union Pacific Railroad. The town had two lumber company-owned railroads connect to it in the early 1900s, the Crittenden Railroad and the Tyronza Lumber Company Railroad.
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 Earle. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1940Deckerville 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 Earle.
Every building
Earle, building by building, 1913–1919
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.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Norvell
Gone or out of use
Saint Peter Schoolschool
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Earle’s history
What year was Earle founded?
The Earle post office opened in 1910, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Earle rank for history?
Earle is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns. 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 Earle?
Three places: the Missouri Pacific Depot (listed 1986), the Washington, George Berry, Memorial (1994) and the Earle High School, Old (2003).
How old are the homes in Earle?
7% of Earle’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 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 (3), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
1936
2012
2012
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