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B−History
History · Harrison

Harrison dates to 1869, and 9 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 52% of U.S. towns · #42 of 123 in Arkansas. What drives it

Most of Harrison was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. 9 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 52 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1897 on, and the census since 1880.

1869founded
9on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Harrison’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Harrison began

When was Harrison founded?

1869

Harrison dates its founding to 1869 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 582 in 18802020 census: 13,069157 years

How historic is Harrison?

B−

More historic than 52% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1836.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Harrison’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Harrison is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns, #42 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 Harrison’s overall grade.
Founding era1869, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19407.2% of homes (±2.4) · typical AR town 3.1% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register9 listings, 62 historic buildings, 46.4 per 10,000 residents · typical AR town 20.5 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 52%
NewerOlder
Arkansas towns of 2,500+ (123)Ahead of 66%

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 Harrison’s 46.4 sits above most of its state (70% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 62 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% 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 (±2.4 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1869.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Harrison’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Harrison Courthouse Square Historic District takes in 52 historic buildings.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1897 to 1923, drew every building in Harrison.On the map since 19043 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1985. Watch Harrison change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Harrison’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1950 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

9 listings protect 62 historic buildings

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

places listed
9
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
62
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Boone County Courthouse
Boone County CourthouseHotel SevilleGrubb Springs SchoolHarrison Courthouse Square Historic DistrictEvans-Kirby HouseDuncan HouseHarrison High School, built 1912Boone County JailRose Hill Cemetery
BuildingsDistrictsSites
Boone County CourthouseBuilding
Hotel SevilleBuilding
Grubb Springs SchoolBuilding
Harrison Courthouse Square Historic DistrictDistrict
Evans-Kirby HouseBuilding
Duncan HouseBuilding
Harrison High SchoolBuilt 1912
All 9 listings
Boone County JailBuilding · listed 1976Rose Hill CemeterySite · listed 2025

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

Every building

Harrison, building by building, 1897–1923

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.

Harrison fire insurance map, 1897, sheet 11897Sheet 1 of 4
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

The story

How Harrison came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Harrison.

Read it all →

Native Americans were the earliest inhabitants of the area, probably beginning with cliff dwellers who lived in caves in the bluffs along the rivers. In later times, the Osage, a Siouan speaking people, were the main tribe in the Ozarks, and one of their larger villages is thought to have been to the east of the present site of Harrison. The Shawnee, Quapaw, and Caddo people were also familiar to the area.

The Cherokee arrived around 1816 and did not get along with the Osage. This hostility erupted into a full-scale war in the Ozark Mountains. By the 1830s, both tribes were removed to Indian Territory.

ChaptersPrecolonial history19th century20th century21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Harrison, 1836 to 1976

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1836Post officeThe Crooked Creek post office opens
  3. 1869
    FoundingHarrison is established
  4. 1870Post officeThe Crooked Creek post office closes
  5. 1870Post officeThe Harrison post office opens
  6. 1880In the archive1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Arkansas - Boone County - Harrison - ED AR 5-12 t…
  7. 20th century
  8. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1906Born hereGracie Pfost is born here
  10. 1912BuiltHarrison High School is built
  11. 1922Born hereJohn Paul Hammerschmidt is born here
  12. 1924Born hereJack Williams is born here
  13. 1939In the archiveFarm Debt Adjustment Committee meeting with farmer who has appealed for assistance. He ha…
  14. 1976Born hereBrandon Burlsworth is born here
By decade

Harrison, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item
1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Arkansas - Boone County - Harrison - ED AR 5-12 to 1718801950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Arkansas - Bo…
1890s–1920snothing 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
1930s1 item
Farm Debt Adjustment Committee meeting with farmer who has appealed for assistance. He has been threatened with foreclo…1939Farm Debt Adjustment Committee meeting with farmer wh…
1940s–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
Peace March2017Peace MarchHarrison, AR Fall Colors Maplewood Cemetery2017Harrison, AR Fall Colors Maplewood CemeteryDowntown Harrison, Arkansas aerial view from hot air balloon2017Downtown Harrison, Arkansas aerial view from hot air …Buffalo National River2017Buffalo National RiverBalloon Festival2017Balloon FestivalAnstaff Scocer Complex2017Anstaff Scocer ComplexHarrison, AR 0032016Harrison, AR 003Equity Bank Sports Complex Field View2016Equity Bank Sports Complex Field ViewNorthark 0012014Northark 001North Arkansas Regional Medical Center 0012014North Arkansas Regional Medical Center 001Hotel Seville 0012014Hotel Seville 001Highway 65B in Harrison, AR 0012014Highway 65B in Harrison, AR 001Highway 43 in Harrison, AR 0012014Highway 43 in Harrison, AR 001Harrison, AR 0022014Harrison, AR 002Harrison, AR 0012014Harrison, AR 001FS Garrison Stadium Jo T Cash Track2012FS Garrison Stadium Jo T Cash TrackBrandon Burlsworth Youth Center2012Brandon Burlsworth Youth CenterLake Harrison, Crooked Creek in2010Lake Harrison, Crooked Creek inAnstaff Bank Soccer Complex Aerial View2010Anstaff Bank Soccer Complex Aerial ViewLearjet 45 at HRO Oct 20092009Learjet 45 at HRO Oct 2009Harrison AR downtown2009Harrison AR downtownHarrison Micropolitan Area2008Harrison Micropolitan AreaCrawdad Days Festival2008Crawdad Days FestivalHistoric Lyric Theatre2007Historic Lyric TheatreBoone County Heritage and Railroad Museum2007Boone County Heritage and Railroad MuseumBoone County Heritage Museum2007Boone County Heritage MuseumARMap-doton-Harrison2005ARMap-doton-Harrison
On the map

Harrison on the map, 1904 to 1985

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

Harrison on the 1904 USGS mapHarrison on the 1967 USGS mapHarrison on the 1985 USGS map1904Harrison 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 Harrison.

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.

1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Arkansas - Boone County - Harrison - ED AR 5-12 to 17
Retake this view1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Arkansas - Boone County - Harrison - ED AR 5-12 to 17, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Harrison, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,0001880190019201940196019802000202013,069

Grew from 582 people in 1880 to 13,069 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

9 famous people were born in Harrison

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

See all →
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
V
Vance TrimbleAmerican journalist · b. 1913
C
Courtney Hudson GoodsonAmerican judge · b. 1973
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Harrison’s post office has been open since 1870. Another post office, Crooked Creek, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Crooked Creek
1836–1870
Harrison
1870–today
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Chapman
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Harrison
FickMaplewoodRose HillSpeer

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

Questions about Harrison’s history

What year was Harrison founded?

In 1869, according to Wikidata. Harrison’s post office opened in 1836, and the census of 1880 counted 582 people here.

How does Harrison rank for history?

Harrison is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns, #42 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 Harrison?

9 listings: 7 buildings, among them the Boone County Courthouse (listed 1976, the first), 1 historic district, the Harrison Courthouse Square Historic District, with 52 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 62 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Harrison?

7% of Harrison’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 1981.

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 Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (9), 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.