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B−History
History · Harrisburg

Harrisburg’s post office opened in 1857, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 46% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Harrisburg was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 16 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1909 on, and the census since 1890.

1857first post office
3on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Harrisburg began

When was Harrisburg founded?

1857

The Harrisburg post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 482 in 18902020 census: 2,212169 years

How historic is Harrisburg?

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: the first Harrisburg post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Harrisburg’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Harrisburg is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Harrisburg’s overall grade.
Founding era1857, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19403.7% of homes (±3.4) · typical AR town 3.1% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register3 listings, 18 historic buildings, 81.2 per 10,000 residents · typical AR town 20.5 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 46%
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 Harrisburg’s 81.2 sits above most of its state (82% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 18 historic buildings outnumber those of 79% 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 (±3.4 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 Harrisburg’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.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Harrisburg’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Harrisburg, in brief

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

Harrisburg is a city in Poinsett County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 2,212 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Jonesboro, Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is the county seat of Poinsett County.

Its first post office opened in 1857. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,288 to 2,212 (-3%).

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

Timeline

Harrisburg, 1857 to 1965

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857Post officeThe Harrisburg post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1907Born hereE. C. Fleeman is born here
  5. 1915In the archiveModern News Building
  6. 1940On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1948Born hereRon Bass is born here
  8. 1965Born hereChuck Malone is born here
By decade

Harrisburg, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Modern News Buildingc. 1915Modern News BuildingBook
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today27 recent
Water tower Harrisburg AR 2012-08 0112012Water tower Harrisburg AR 2012-08 011Hwy 163 N Crowley-s Ridge Pkwy signs Harrisburg AR 2012-08 0152012Hwy 163 N Crowley-s Ridge Pkwy signs Harrisburg AR 20…Harrisburg AR downtown 0242011Harrisburg AR downtown 024Harrisburg AR downtown 0232011Harrisburg AR downtown 023Harrisburg AR downtown 0222011Harrisburg AR downtown 022Harrisburg AR downtown 0212011Harrisburg AR downtown 021Harrisburg AR downtown 0202011Harrisburg AR downtown 020Harrisburg AR downtown 0192011Harrisburg AR downtown 019Harrisburg AR downtown 0182011Harrisburg AR downtown 018Harrisburg AR downtown 0172011Harrisburg AR downtown 017Harrisburg AR downtown 0162011Harrisburg AR downtown 016Harrisburg AR downtown 0152011Harrisburg AR downtown 015Harrisburg AR downtown 0142011Harrisburg AR downtown 014Harrisburg AR downtown 0132011Harrisburg AR downtown 013Harrisburg AR downtown 0122011Harrisburg AR downtown 012Harrisburg AR downtown 0112011Harrisburg AR downtown 011Harrisburg AR downtown 0102011Harrisburg AR downtown 010Harrisburg AR downtown 0092011Harrisburg AR downtown 009Harrisburg AR downtown 0082011Harrisburg AR downtown 008Harrisburg AR downtown 0072011Harrisburg AR downtown 007Harrisburg AR downtown 0062011Harrisburg AR downtown 006Harrisburg AR downtown 0052011Harrisburg AR downtown 005Harrisburg AR downtown 0042011Harrisburg AR downtown 004Harrisburg AR downtown 0032011Harrisburg AR downtown 003Harrisburg AR downtown 0022011Harrisburg AR downtown 002Harrisburg AR downtown 0012011Harrisburg AR downtown 001ARMap-doton-Harrisburg2005ARMap-doton-Harrisburg
On the map

Harrisburg on the map, 1940 to 1983

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

Harrisburg on the 1940 USGS mapHarrisburg on the 1958 USGS mapHarrisburg on the 1983 USGS map1940Dee sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Harrisburg.

Every building

Harrisburg, building by building, 1909–1917

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.

Harrisburg fire insurance map, 1909, sheet 11909Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

On the National Register

3 listings protect 18 historic buildings

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
18
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Modern News Building
Modern News BuildingPoinsett County CourthouseHarrisburg Commercial Historic District
BuildingsDistricts
Modern News BuildingBuilding
Poinsett County CourthouseBuilding
Harrisburg Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict

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

People over time

Harrisburg, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,288

Between 462 and 2,288 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Harrisburg

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

See all →
Ron BassAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1948
Chuck MaloneAmerican baseball player · b. 1965
E
E. C. FleemanAmerican politician · b. 1907

Questions about Harrisburg’s history

What year was Harrisburg founded?

The Harrisburg post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Harrisburg rank for history?

Harrisburg is more historic than 46% 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 Harrisburg?

Three places: the Modern News Building (listed 1976), the Poinsett County Courthouse (1989) and the Harrisburg Commercial Historic District (2009).

How old are the homes in Harrisburg?

4% of Harrisburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.4 points), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 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).

From Wikimedia Commons (28), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.