Most of Highland was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: maps from 1962 on and the census since 2000.
The Highland post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Stuart (1905), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 986 in 20002020 census: 982148 years
How historic is Highland?
D
More historic than 15% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Highland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Highland’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Highland is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Highland’s overall grade.
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 Highland’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (11% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share (±2.3 points) is firm at this size. 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 Highland’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Highland yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Highland is a city in Sharp County, Arkansas, United States. The city was incorporated in 1998 and is located in Sharp County. It is the fourth largest city in Sharp County with an estimated population of 1,047 in 2024.
Its first post office opened in 1878. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,045 to 982 (-6%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Highland, 1878 to 1962
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Highland post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Highland rank for history?
Highland is more historic than 15% 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.
How old are the homes in Highland?
2% of Highland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.3 points), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 (1), 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.
2005
