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History · Humphrey

Humphrey’s post office opened in 1884, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1941 on, and the census since 1910.

1884first post office
0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Humphrey’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Humphrey began

When was Humphrey founded?

1884

The Humphrey post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 380 in 19102020 census: 463142 years
Founding year: the first Humphrey post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Humphrey’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.Boom and bustPeaked at 872 in 1980; 463 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Humphrey’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Humphrey’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 view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Humphrey, census by census

0200400600800192019401960198020002020Peak: 872

Peaked at 872 in 1980; 463 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story so far

Humphrey, in brief

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

Humphrey is a city in Arkansas and Jefferson counties in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, Humphrey had a population of 463. It is included in the Pine Bluff micropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1884. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 557 to 463 (-17%).

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

Timeline

Humphrey, 1880 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Arkansas - Arkansas County - Humphrey - ED 1-12
  3. 1884Post officeThe Humphrey post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1927In the archiveHumphrey, Ark., street scene
  6. 1941On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 872
By decade

Humphrey, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Arkansas - Arkansas County - Humphrey - ED 1-1218801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Arkansas - Ar…
1890s–1910snothing 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
1920s1 item
Humphrey, Ark., street scene1927Humphrey, Ark., street scene
1930s–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
Today1 recent
ARMap-doton-Humphrey2005ARMap-doton-Humphrey
On the map

Humphrey on the map, 1941 to 1967

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

Humphrey on the 1941 USGS mapHumphrey on the 1967 USGS map1941Goldman 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 Humphrey.

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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Arkansas - Arkansas County - Humphrey - ED 1-12
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Arkansas - Arkansas County - Humphrey - ED 1-12, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Humphrey

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

See all →
Tommy Lister Jr.American actor and wrestler · b. 1958
Dallas LongAmerican shot putter · b. 1940
Bill CarrAmerican sprinter · b. 1909
Charles GreeneAmerican sprinter · b. 1945
Camille KeatonAmerican actress · b. 1947
E
Ed HammFormer American long jumper and Olympic gold me… · b. 1906

Questions about Humphrey’s history

What year was Humphrey founded?

The Humphrey post office opened in 1884, 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 (2), the Library of Congress (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.