Half of Horseshoe Bend’s homes were built after 1978
Among the newest of U.S. towns · #120 of 123 in Arkansas. What drives it
Most of Horseshoe Bend was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1951 on, and the census since 1970.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Horseshoe Bend is among the newest of U.S. towns, #120 of 123 in Arkansas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Horseshoe Bend’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 Horseshoe Bend’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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±1.0 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Horseshoe Bend’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 Horseshoe Bend yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Horseshoe Bend is a city in Fulton, Izard, and Sharp counties in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, Horseshoe Bend had a population of 2,440. It is named for the large loop or horseshoe bend in the nearby Strawberry River.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,184 to 2,440 (+12%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Horseshoe Bend. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1951Melbourne 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 Horseshoe Bend.
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.
Retake this viewHorseshoe Bend 6M2
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Horseshoe Bend’s page.
Horseshoe Bend is among the newest of U.S. towns, #120 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.
How old are the homes in Horseshoe Bend?
0.0% of Horseshoe Bend’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 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 (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
Date?
2005
