Fordyce’s post office opened in 1883, and 22 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 61% of U.S. towns · #30 of 123 in Arkansas. What drives it
Most of Fordyce was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. 22 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 41 buildings between them. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1896 on, and the census since 1890.
Founding year: the first Fordyce post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Fordyce’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fordyce is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns, #30 of 123 in Arkansas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fordyce’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 Fordyce’s 184 sits above most of its state (96% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 60 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Fordyce’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Before European settlement, the area was inhabited by the Caddo people, whose artifacts are occasionally found. The land that became Fordyce was partially cleared before 1850 by W. W. Killabrew, an early settler. In the 1870s, the land was owned by an African American named Henry Atkinson, who sold it to Dr. Algernon Sidney Holderness for $118, who built the first sawmill in town.
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.
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 Fordyce. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1966Fordyce 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 Fordyce.
Every building
Fordyce, building by building, 1896–1917
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.
J E Wallace Elementary SchoolschoolPatterson Grammar Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Fordyce
Oakland
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Fordyce’s history
What year was Fordyce founded?
The Fordyce post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Fordyce rank for history?
Fordyce is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns, #30 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 Fordyce?
22 listings: 18 buildings, among them the Fordyce Home Accident Ins. Co. (listed 1982, the first), 2 historic districts, the Charlotte Street Historic District and the Fordyce Commercial Historic District, with 41 contributing buildings, and 2 structures. 60 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Fordyce?
8% of Fordyce’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.7 points), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (22), 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.
1880
2016
2016
2016
2016
2016
2016
2014
2014
2014
2014
2014
2014
2014
2011
2007
