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History · Hartford

Hartford’s post office opened in 1874, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 9 buildings. Below: maps from 1887 on and the census since 1900.

1874first post office
3on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Hartford began

When was Hartford founded?

1874

The Hartford post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1900. Another post office, Sugar Loaf (1847), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 460 in 19002020 census: 499152 years
Founding year: the first Hartford post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1900.The full story ↓

What stands out about Hartford’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 Hartford are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18875 editions of the USGS map, 1887 to 1987. Watch Hartford change.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,067 in 1920; 499 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hartford’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Hartford on the map, 1887 to 1987

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

Hartford on the 1887 USGS mapHartford on the 1947 USGS mapHartford on the 1951 USGS mapHartford on the 1978 USGS mapHartford on the 1987 USGS map1887Greenwood 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 Hartford.

People over time

Hartford, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,067

Peaked at 2,067 in 1920; 499 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story

How Hartford came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hartford.

Read it all →

The town of Hartford was first called Gwynn when it was originally settled. Prior to 1900, the town saw the arrival of the Rock Island Railroad, and the town's name was changed to Hartford. Hartford was incorporated in 1900 and as a result, the old original town of Hartford, about one and a half miles west and named for a creek crossing belonging to the Hart family, is now generally referred to as "Old Town" or "West Hartford". According to Goodspeed's "History of Arkansas", William J. Fleming and William Stevenson opened the first store in West Hartford. By 1891 there were several businesses, a public school, and a Union Church edifice used respectively by Methodists, Baptists, and Cumberland Presbyterians.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Hartford, 1847 to 1935

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1847Post officeThe Sugar Loaf post office opens
  3. 1874Post officeThe Hartford post office opens
  4. 1887On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1902Post officeThe Sugar Loaf post office closes
  7. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 2,067
  8. 1935Born hereJames T. Draper, Jr. is born here
By decade

Hartford, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Hartford Water Tower2014Hartford Water TowerHartford Water Tower, Detail View2014Hartford Water Tower, Detail ViewARMap-doton-Hartford2005ARMap-doton-Hartford
Every building

Hartford, building by building, 1908–1913

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 year, then a sheet.

Hartford fire insurance map, 1908, sheet 11908Sheet 1 of 3
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 10 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
10
each building in a district counts
first listed
2008
Hartford Water Tower
Hartford Water TowerHartford Commercial Historic DistrictJones Memorial Methodist Church
BuildingsDistrictsStructures
Hartford Water TowerStructure
Hartford Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict
Jones Memorial Methodist ChurchBuilding

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Hartford’s post office has been open since 1874. Another post office, Sugar Loaf, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Sugar Loaf
1847–1902
Hartford
1874–today
18401930today
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Hartford
Hartford MemorialMemorial

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

Questions about Hartford’s history

What year was Hartford founded?

The Hartford post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1900.

What is on the National Register in Hartford?

Three places: the Hartford Water Tower (listed 2008), the Hartford Commercial Historic District (2009) and the Jones Memorial Methodist Church (2011).

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 (3), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.