Elkins’ post office opened in 1892, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 24% of U.S. towns · #84 of 123 in Arkansas. What drives it
Most of Elkins was built recently: 0.6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2004. Its Register listings are the Maguire-Williams House, the White River Bridge at Elkins and the Stokenbury Cemetery. Below: maps from 1976 on and the census since 1970.
The Elkins post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1964. Two smaller post offices, Hood (1885) and Harris (1888), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 418 in 19702020 census: 3,602134 years
How historic is Elkins?
C−
More historic than 24% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Elkins post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1964.
History grade
What drives Elkins’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Elkins is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #84 of 123 in Arkansas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Elkins’ 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 Elkins’ 7.9 sits near the middle of its state (40% 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 C. The pre-1940 share (±2.1 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1964.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Elkins’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Elkins’s post office has been open since 1892. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hood
1885–1892
Harris
1888–1957
Elkins
1892–today
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Harris
Gone or out of use
Harris Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Elkins
Stokenbury
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Elkins, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Elkins yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Elkins is a city in Washington County, Arkansas, United States. The community is located in the Boston Mountains, deep in the Ozark Mountains. A combination of the former unincorporated communities of Harris and Hood, Elkins was established in 1964. Located immediately east of Fayetteville in the Northwest Arkansas metropolitan statistical area, Elkins had a population of 3,602 as of the 2020 census.
Its first post office opened in 1892. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,648 to 3,602 (+36%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Elkins, 1846 to 1976
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Elkins post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1964.
How does Elkins rank for history?
Elkins is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #84 of 123 in Arkansas. 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 Elkins?
Three places: the Maguire-Williams House (listed 1995), the White River Bridge at Elkins (2008) and the Stokenbury Cemetery (2010).
How old are the homes in Elkins?
0.6% of Elkins’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.1 points), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 2004.
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 (7), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
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