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History · Foreman

Foreman’s post office opened in 1898, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Foreman was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: maps from 1908 on and the census since 1970.

1898first post office
4on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Foreman began

When was Foreman founded?

1898

The Foreman post office opened in 1898, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,173 in 19702020 census: 977128 years
Founding year: the first Foreman post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Foreman’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 Foreman are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,377 in 1980; 977 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1908 to 1919, drew every building in Foreman.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Foreman’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Foreman’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Foreman, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,400198020002020Peak: 1,377

Peaked at 1,377 in 1980; 977 people lived here in 2020.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Foreman’s Wikipedia page.

Every building

Foreman, building by building, 1908–1919

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.

Foreman fire insurance map, 1908, sheet 11908Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Foreman came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Foreman.

Read it all →

Carved out of parts of Sevier County and Hempstead County, Little River County was established in 1867 by an act of the Arkansas legislature. The new county gave citizens a shorter and easier journey to their county seat of government. Because of the area's close proximity to the Little River, which flows into the Red River near Texarkana (Miller County), it took the name of Little River County. This county is located in the southwest corner of the state and is surrounded by Sevier, Hempstead, Howard, and Miller counties in Arkansas and by counties in Texas and Oklahoma. The two rivers form major parts of the boundary of Little River County.

ChaptersLouisiana Purchase through the Gilded AgeEarly Twentieth CenturyWorld War II through Modern Era

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Foreman, 1898 to 1980

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1898Post officeThe Foreman post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1935Born hereJimmy "Preacher" Ellis is born here
  5. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1966Born hereJames T. Horn is born here
  7. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 1,377
By decade

Foreman, decade by decade

Today5 recent
New Rocky Comfort Jail2016New Rocky Comfort JailHawkins House2016Hawkins HouseAnderson-Hobson Mercantile Store2016Anderson-Hobson Mercantile StoreEntrance sign to Foreman, AR, Recreation Park IMG 84932013Entrance sign to Foreman, AR, Recreation Park IMG 8493City Hall in Foreman, AR IMG 84942013City Hall in Foreman, AR IMG 8494
On the map

Foreman on the map, 1951 to 1975

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

Foreman on the 1951 USGS mapForeman on the 1975 USGS map1951Foreman 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 Foreman.

On the National Register

4 historic places in Foreman

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1994
New Rocky Comfort Jail
New Rocky Comfort JailAnderson-Hobson Mercantile StoreHawkins HouseSt. Barnabas Episcopal Church
Buildings
New Rocky Comfort JailBuilding
Anderson-Hobson Mercantile StoreBuilding
Hawkins HouseBuilding
St. Barnabas Episcopal ChurchBuilding

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Foreman

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
J
James T. HornAmerican country music singer · b. 1966
J
Jimmy "Preacher" EllisAmerican blues musician · b. 1935

Questions about Foreman’s history

What year was Foreman founded?

The Foreman post office opened in 1898, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Foreman?

4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the New Rocky Comfort Jail (listed 1994, the first).

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 Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.