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History · El Paso

El Paso’s post office opened in 1869, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

Most of El Paso was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Its Register listings are the El Paso Bank and the David Doyle House No. 2. Below: maps from 1956 on.

1869first post office
2on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How El Paso began

When was El Paso founded?

1869

The El Paso post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 267157 years
Founding year: the first El Paso post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

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

Start El Paso’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how El Paso’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

How El Paso came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of El Paso.

Read it all →

The historic Southwest Trail, a path used by most travelers entering Arkansas early in the 1800s, entered El Paso on today's Arkansas Highway 5 from Floyd, then headed to Gibson via Arkansas Highway 89, Tate's Mill Road and Batesville Pike Road. By the 1830s more than 80 percent of the Arkansas territory's population had entered through the Southwest Trail. The route is also known as the Old Military Road.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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On the map

El Paso on the map, 1956 to 1992

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

El Paso on the 1956 USGS mapEl Paso on the 1964 USGS mapEl Paso on the 1977 USGS mapEl Paso on the 1983 USGS mapEl Paso on the 1992 USGS map1956Russellville sheet · 1:250,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of El Paso.

On the National Register

2 historic places in El Paso

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1991
El Paso Bank
El Paso BankDavid Doyle House No. 2
Buildings
El Paso BankBuilding
All 2 listings
David Doyle House No. 2Building · listed 1991

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

Famous people

Famous people close to El Paso

Nobody well known was born in El Paso itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
B
Beth DittoAmerican singer · b. 1981
K
Kris AllenAmerican musician and singer-songwriter · b. 1985
Jason WhiteAmerican guitarist · b. 1973
R
Rocky GrayAmerican musician · b. 1974
E
Ed HammFormer American long jumper and Olympic gold me… · b. 1906
Joseph Taylor RobinsonAmerican politician · b. 1872

Questions about El Paso’s history

What year was El Paso founded?

The El Paso post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in El Paso?

Two places: the El Paso Bank (listed 1991) and the David Doyle House No. 2 (1991).

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 the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.