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C+History
History · Hampton

Hampton’s post office opened in 1852, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 39% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Hampton was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1973 on, and the census since 1860.

1852first post office
4on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Hampton began

When was Hampton founded?

1852

The Hampton post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 166 in 18602020 census: 1,181174 years

How historic is Hampton?

C+

More historic than 39% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Hampton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Hampton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hampton is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hampton’s overall grade.
Founding era1852, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19403.8% of homes (±3.9) · typical AR town 3.1% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register4 listings, 38.6 per 10,000 residents · typical AR town 20.5 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 39%
NewerOlder

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 Hampton’s 38.6 sits near the middle of its state (64% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% 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 (±3.9 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 Hampton’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.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1890 and 1920, then grew 4-fold.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hampton’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewJohn Robinson Hampton (1807–1880): stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Hampton, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,800190019502000406 in 1890Low: 271

Lost a third of its people between 1890 and 1920, then grew 4-fold.

16 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

On the National Register

4 historic places in Hampton

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
1976
Calhoun County Courthouse
Calhoun County CourthouseHampton WaterworksHampton Masonic Lodge BuildingHampton Cemetery
BuildingsSitesStructures
Calhoun County CourthouseBuilding
Hampton WaterworksStructure
Hampton Masonic Lodge BuildingBuilding
Hampton CemeterySite

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

The story so far

Hampton, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Hampton yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Hampton is a town in Calhoun County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 1,181 according to the 2020 United States census. The town is the county seat of Calhoun County. Hampton is part of the Camden Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1852. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,324 to 1,181 (-11%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Hampton, 1852 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1852Post officeThe Hampton post office opens
  3. 1877In the archiveJohn Robinson Hampton (1807–1880)
  4. 20th century
  5. 1933Born hereRed Parker is born here
  6. 1938Born hereWayne Harris is born here
  7. 1940Born hereHarry Thomason is born here
  8. 1946Born hereWood Newton is born here
  9. 1973On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 1,627
By decade

Hampton, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s1 item
John Robinson Hampton (1807–1880)1877John Robinson Hampton (1807–1880)
Today5 recent
Hampton Waterworks2016Hampton WaterworksHampton Masonic Lodge Building2016Hampton Masonic Lodge BuildingDunn House2016Dunn HouseCalhoun County Courthouse2016Calhoun County CourthouseARMap-doton-Hampton2005ARMap-doton-Hampton
On the map

Hampton on the map, 1973 to 1985

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

Hampton on the 1973 USGS mapHampton on the 1985 USGS map1973Hampton 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 Hampton.

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.

John Robinson Hampton (1807–1880)
Retake this viewJohn Robinson Hampton (1807–1880), 1877

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

4 famous people were born in Hampton

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

See all →
Wood NewtonSongwriter · b. 1946
H
Harry ThomasonAmerican film producer · b. 1940
Red ParkerAmerican football coach · b. 1933
W
Wayne HarrisPlayer of American and Canadian football · b. 1938

Questions about Hampton’s history

What year was Hampton founded?

The Hampton post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Hampton rank for history?

Hampton is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns. 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 Hampton?

4 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Calhoun County Courthouse (listed 1976, the first), 1 site, and 1 structure.

How old are the homes in Hampton?

4% of Hampton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 1977.

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 (6), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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) 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.