11 places in town are on the National Register, among them four historic districts with 496 buildings between them. Below: 16 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Eureka Springs post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1880.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Eureka Springs’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Eureka Springs is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Eureka Springs’ 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 Eureka Springs’ 2,063 sits above most of its state (100% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 502 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1880 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Eureka Springs’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Eureka Springs, building by building, 1886–1914
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.
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
On the map
Eureka Springs on the map, 1900 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Eureka Springs. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1900Eureka Springs sheet · 1:125,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Eureka Springs.
Archaeological evidence indicates that Paleoindian peoples lived in the region thousands of years ago. During the Archaic and Woodland periods, inhabitants produced stone tools, including projectile points, from locally available chert.
By the time of the Louisiana Purchase, the hills and valleys around Eureka Springs were part of the ancestral lands claimed by the historic Osage Nation, which used much of northern Arkansas as hunting territory. Bands of Delaware and Shawnee peoples also lived in the region before federal Indian removal policies that relocated tribes further west.
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.
The Eureka Springs post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1880.
How does Eureka Springs rank for history?
Eureka Springs is more historic than 86% 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 Eureka Springs?
11 listings: 4 buildings, 4 historic districts with 496 contributing buildings, 1 site, and 2 structures. 502 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Eureka Springs?
31% of Eureka Springs’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.5 points), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 (6), the Library of Congress (10), the National Register of Historic Places (11), 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.
c. 1886
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