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History · Gilbert

Gilbert dates to 1902, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Mays General Store. Below: maps from 1962 on and the census since 1930.

1902founded
1on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Gilbert began

When was Gilbert founded?

1902

Gilbert dates its founding to 1902 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1930.

First census: 116 in 19302020 census: 26124 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1903.The full story ↓

What stands out about Gilbert’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 Gilbert are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Gilbert’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Gilbert came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gilbert.

Read it all →

The Gilbert community was founded in 1902 when a railroad construction camp for the Missouri and North Arkansas (M&NA) Railroad was built and named in honor of Charles W. Gilbert, secretary-treasurer of Allegheny Supply Company, which was building the railroad. The M&NA began at Seligman, Missouri and rambled for 303 tortuous miles to Helena, Arkansas on the Mississippi River. In 1906, William Mays moved his store and post office to Gilbert. The Gilbert General Store, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places under the name Mays Store.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Gilbert, 1902 to 1962

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1902
    FoundingGilbert is established
  3. 1903Post officeThe Gilbert post office opens
  4. 1962On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Gilbert, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Aerial view of Gilbert2011Aerial view of Gilbert
On the map

Gilbert on the map in 1962

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Gilbert.

Gilbert on the 1962 USGS map1962Marshall 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 Gilbert.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Gilbert

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
Mays General Store
Mays General Store
Buildings
Mays General StoreBuilding

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

People over time

Gilbert, census by census

010019401960198020002020Peak: 116

Between 26 and 116 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Gilbert

Nobody well known was born in Gilbert itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Elton BrittCountry music guitarist and singer-songwriter · b. 1912
Davis Tutt19th-century American Old West gambler · b. 1836
John Paul HammerschmidtAmerican politician · b. 1922
Gracie PfostAmerican politician · b. 1906
Jack WilliamsUnited States Navy Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1924
B
Brandon BurlsworthAmerican football player · b. 1976

Questions about Gilbert’s history

What year was Gilbert founded?

In 1902, according to Wikidata. Gilbert’s post office opened in 1903, and the census of 1930 counted 116 people here.

What is on the National Register in Gilbert?

One place: the Mays General Store (listed 1983).

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 (1), Wikidata (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.