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Horseshoe Lake AR 04Photo: Thomas R Machnitzki · CC BY 3.0
–Not graded
History · Horseshoe Lake

Horseshoe Lake was first counted by the census in 1990

Most of Horseshoe Lake was built recently: 0.7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: maps from 1939 on and the census since 1990.

1990first census
0on the National Register
0.7%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Thomas R Machnitzki · CC BY 3.0
Quick answers

How Horseshoe Lake began

When was Horseshoe Lake founded?

1990

Horseshoe Lake first appears in the census in 1990.

First census: 298 in 19902020 census: 26436 years
Founding year: the first census.

What stands out about Horseshoe Lake’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 Horseshoe Lake are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Horseshoe Lake’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Horseshoe Lake’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
The story so far

Horseshoe Lake, in brief

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

Horseshoe Lake is a town in Crittenden County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 264 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Horseshoe Lake, an oxbow lake at the eastern tip of which the town is located.

Its first post office opened in 1990. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 292 to 264 (-10%).

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

By decade

Horseshoe Lake, decade by decade

Today18 recent
Horseshoe Lake AR 162010Horseshoe Lake AR 16Horseshoe Lake AR 152010Horseshoe Lake AR 15Horseshoe Lake AR 142010Horseshoe Lake AR 14Horseshoe Lake AR 132010Horseshoe Lake AR 13Horseshoe Lake AR 122010Horseshoe Lake AR 12Horseshoe Lake AR 112010Horseshoe Lake AR 11Horseshoe Lake AR 102010Horseshoe Lake AR 10Horseshoe Lake AR 092010Horseshoe Lake AR 09Horseshoe Lake AR 082010Horseshoe Lake AR 08Horseshoe Lake AR 072010Horseshoe Lake AR 07Horseshoe Lake AR 062010Horseshoe Lake AR 06Horseshoe Lake AR 052010Horseshoe Lake AR 05Horseshoe Lake AR 042010Horseshoe Lake AR 04Horseshoe Lake AR 032010Horseshoe Lake AR 03Horseshoe Lake AR 022010Horseshoe Lake AR 02Horseshoe Lake AR 012010Horseshoe Lake AR 01Mississippi River-sand bars2005Mississippi River-sand barsARMap-doton-Horseshoe Lake2005ARMap-doton-Horseshoe Lake
On the map

Horseshoe Lake on the map, 1939 to 1981

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

Horseshoe Lake on the 1939 USGS mapHorseshoe Lake on the 1954 USGS mapHorseshoe Lake on the 1960 USGS mapHorseshoe Lake on the 1975 USGS mapHorseshoe Lake on the 1981 USGS map1939Horseshoe Lake 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 Lake.

People over time

Horseshoe Lake, census by census

010020030020002020Peak: 321

Between 264 and 321 people in every census since 1990.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Horseshoe Lake

Nobody well known was born in Horseshoe Lake itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Morgan FreemanAmerican actor and producer · b. 1937
Aretha FranklinAmerican singer, songwriter, and pianist · b. 1942
Kathy BatesAmerican film actress and director · b. 1948
James Earl JonesAmerican actor · b. 1931
Shannen DohertyAmerican actress · b. 1971
Lucy HaleAmerican actress and singer · b. 1989

Questions about Horseshoe Lake’s history

What year was Horseshoe Lake founded?

The Horseshoe Lake post office opened in 1990, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (18), 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.