Gibson’s post office opened in 1903, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 8% of U.S. towns · #110 of 123 in Arkansas. What drives it
Most of Gibson was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Its Register listing is the Arkansas Ordnance Plant Guard House. Below: maps from 1941 on and the census since 2000.
Founding year: the first Gibson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Gibson’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gibson is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #110 of 123 in Arkansas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Gibson’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 Gibson’s 2.4 sits below most of its state (27% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size. 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 Gibson’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Gibson was an early settlement in the Arkansas territory. The Southwest Trail military road, the route of most Americans headed to Mexico's Texas territory and the Republic of Texas, passed through Gibson. At one time, some 80 percent of Arkansas' settlers had arrived using the Southwest Trail.
Also known as the Old Military Road, the route passed from El Paso to North Little Rock through Gibson. From El Paso, Southwest Trail goes through current-day Arkansas Highway 89, then Tate's Mill Road to Batesville Pike Road through Gibson to Remount Road, to Arkansas Highway 176 and to Arkansas Highway 365 through North Little Rock.
The Gibson post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Gibson rank for history?
Gibson is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #110 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 Gibson?
One place: the Arkansas Ordnance Plant Guard House (listed 2006).
How old are the homes in Gibson?
0.0% of Gibson’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.
2005
