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B−History
History · Gravette

Gravette dates to 1881, and 5 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 46% of U.S. towns · #51 of 123 in Arkansas. What drives it

Most of Gravette was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1899 on, and the census since 1900.

1881founded
5on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Gravette’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Gravette began

When was Gravette founded?

1881

Gravette dates its founding to 1881 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 447 in 19002020 census: 3,547145 years

How historic is Gravette?

B−

More historic than 46% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1871.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Gravette’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gravette is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #51 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 Gravette’s overall grade.
Founding era1881, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19409.7% of homes (±9.5) · typical AR town 3.1% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register5 listings, 13.5 per 10,000 residents · typical AR town 20.5 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 46%
NewerOlder
Arkansas towns of 2,500+ (123)Ahead of 59%

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 Gravette’s 13.5 sits near the middle of its state (47% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 5 listings outnumber those of 70% 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 (±9.5 points). Two sources give 1881.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Gravette’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18993 editions of the USGS map, 1899 to 1971. Watch Gravette change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Gravette, and 2 old place names are still on the map.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Gravette’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewSpavinaw Creek Bridge, Spans Spavinaw C…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Gravette on the map, 1899 to 1971

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

Gravette on the 1899 USGS mapGravette on the 1901 USGS mapGravette on the 1971 USGS map1899Fayetteville 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 Gravette.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Dickson
1871–1899
Nebo
1878–1894
Gravett
1894–today
Hiwasse
1899–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
HiwasseNebo
Gone or out of use
Banks SchoolschoolHiwasse Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Gravette
DanielsHillcrestMount Pleasant

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Gravette came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gravette.

Read it all →

The original name of the first European-American settlement at this location was Nebo. The Nebo area is now referred to as Old Town in Chalk Valley and was the earliest pioneer settlement of the community. The settlement was platted in the 1870s by Joseph P. Covey, who relocated to Southwest City, Missouri, in 1881. Ellis Tillman Gravett opened the Chalk Valley Distillery in Nebo and was also the proprietor of a general merchandise store. In 1891, he moved that store west out of the valley to what is now downtown Gravette.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Gravette, 1871 to 1963

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Dickson post office opens
  3. 1878Post officeThe Nebo post office opens
  4. 1881
    FoundingGravette is established
  5. 1894Post officeThe Nebo post office closes
  6. 1894Post officeThe Gravett post office opens
  7. 1899Post officeThe Dickson post office closes
  8. 1899On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 20th century
  10. 1938Born hereKim Hendren is born here
  11. 1940Born hereJimm Larry Hendren is born here
  12. 1943Born hereMary Lou Slinkard is born here
  13. 1963Born hereJim Hendren is born here
By decade

Gravette, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Spavinaw Creek Bridge, Spans Spavinaw Creek at Benton County Road 29Date?Spavinaw Creek Bridge, Spans Spavinaw Creek at Benton…
Today14 recent
Looking west along I-49 in Gravette, Arkansas 0022026Looking west along I-49 in Gravette, Arkansas 002Looking west along I-49 in Gravette, Arkansas 0012026Looking west along I-49 in Gravette, Arkansas 001Looking east along I-49 in Gravette, Arkansas 0022026Looking east along I-49 in Gravette, Arkansas 002Looking east along I-49 in Gravette, Arkansas 0012026Looking east along I-49 in Gravette, Arkansas 001Banks House2015Banks HousePark in Gravette, AR 0032013Park in Gravette, AR 003Park in Gravette, AR 0022013Park in Gravette, AR 002Park in Gravette, AR 0012013Park in Gravette, AR 001Kindley House in2013Kindley House inKansas City Southern caboose in2013Kansas City Southern caboose inHwy. 72 turns off Hwy. 59 in2013Hwy. 72 turns off Hwy. 59 inHwy. 59 north of2013Hwy. 59 north ofGravette Public Library in2013Gravette Public Library inARMap-doton-Gravette2005ARMap-doton-Gravette
Every building

Gravette, building by building, 1913

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 sheet.

Gravette fire insurance map, 1913, sheet 11913Sheet 1 of 2
BrickWoodStone

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

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Spavinaw Creek Bridge, Spans Spavinaw Creek at Benton County Road 29
Retake this viewSpavinaw Creek Bridge, Spans Spavinaw Creek at Benton County Road 29

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Gravette’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

5 historic places in Gravette

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

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
1988
Banks House
Banks HouseBolin Barn and SmokehouseKindley HouseKansas City Southern Railway Caboose #383Hiwasse Bank Building
BuildingsStructures
Banks HouseBuilding
Bolin Barn and SmokehouseBuilding
Kindley HouseBuilding
Kansas City Southern Railway Caboose #383Structure
All 5 listings
Hiwasse Bank BuildingBuilding · listed 1988

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

People over time

Gravette, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,50019001920194019601980200020203,547

Grew from 447 people in 1900 to 3,547 in 2020, 7 times over.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Gravette

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

See all →
K
Kim HendrenAmerican politician · b. 1938
J
Jim HendrenAmerican businessman and politician · b. 1963
J
Jimm Larry HendrenAmerican judge · b. 1940
M
Mary Lou SlinkardAmerican politician · b. 1943
L
Lloyd AndrewsAmerican actor, singer and composer · b. 1906
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Bella Vista11 historic placesD

Questions about Gravette’s history

What year was Gravette founded?

In 1881, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Gravette’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1900 counted 447 people here.

How does Gravette rank for history?

Gravette is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #51 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 Gravette?

5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Banks House (listed 1988, the first), and 1 structure.

How old are the homes in Gravette?

10% of Gravette’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.5 points), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 1993.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (14), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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.