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History · Imboden

Imboden dates to 1828, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the St. Louis-San Francisco Overpass, the Dr. John Octavius Hatcher House and the Imboden Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1934 on, and the census since 1890.

1828founded
3on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Imboden’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Imboden began

When was Imboden founded?

1828

Imboden dates its founding to 1828 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 157 in 18902020 census: 640198 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1883.The full story ↓

What stands out about Imboden’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1828: 198 years of Imboden.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Imboden’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewSt. Louis - San Francisco Bridge, Spann…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Imboden, 1828 to 1937

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1828
    FoundingImboden is established
  3. 1883Post officeThe Imboden post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1934On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1937BuiltSt. Louis-San Francisco Overpass is built
The story

How Imboden came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Imboden.

Read it all →

The community was first settled around 1828 and was incorporated in 1887.

In 1912, Imboden elected Joe Sullivan as the youngest elected mayor in the United States of that period. He was 21 years old and paralyzed, so relied on a goat-driven cart. He left the town in 1914 to pursue further education.

Imboden has two public schools. Sloan-Hendrix School was established in 1899 as Sloan-Hendrix Academy, a private school affiliated with Hendrix College in Conway. It later became a public school. Imboden Area Charter School, an open-enrollment public charter school, opened in 2002.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Imboden, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
St. Louis - San Francisco Bridge, Spanning Spring River at U.S. Highway 62Date?St. Louis - San Francisco Bridge, Spanning Spring Riv…
Today7 recent
US 62 bridge over Spring River at Imboden, AR 0022026US 62 bridge over Spring River at Imboden, AR 002US 62 bridge over Spring River at Imboden, AR 0012026US 62 bridge over Spring River at Imboden, AR 001Spring River at US 62 bridge in Imboden, AR 0022026Spring River at US 62 bridge in Imboden, AR 002Spring River at US 62 bridge in Imboden, AR 0012026Spring River at US 62 bridge in Imboden, AR 001Imboden, Arkansas2024Imboden, ArkansasVirgie's Restaurant in tiny Imboden, a community in northern Arkansas, doesn't bother with subtleties when attracting c…2020Virgie's Restaurant in tiny Imboden, a community in n…ARMap-doton-Imboden2005ARMap-doton-Imboden
On the map

Imboden on the map, 1934 to 1981

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

Imboden on the 1934 USGS mapImboden on the 1966 USGS mapImboden on the 1981 USGS map1934Powhatan 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 Imboden.

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.

St. Louis - San Francisco Bridge, Spanning Spring River at U.S. Highway 62
Retake this viewSt. Louis - San Francisco Bridge, Spanning Spring River at U.S. Highway 62

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Imboden

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1990
St. Louis-San Francisco Overpass
St. Louis-San Francisco Overpass, built 1937Dr. John Octavius Hatcher HouseImboden Methodist Episcopal Church, South
BuildingsStructures
St. Louis-San Francisco OverpassBuilt 1937
Dr. John Octavius Hatcher HouseBuilding
Imboden Methodist Episcopal Church, SouthBuilding

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

People over time

Imboden, census by census

01002003004005006007001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 684

Between 157 and 684 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Imboden

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

See all →
Gordon CarpenterAmerican basketball player · b. 1919
Billy Lee RileyAmerican rockabilly musician, singer, record pr… · b. 1933
J
Jim JohnstonAmerican music composer and musician best known… · b. 1959
James T. ConwayU.S. Marine Corps general · b. 1947
Ed BethuneArkansas politician, lawyer, lobbyist and Unite… · b. 1935
M
Miller WilliamsAmerican poet, translator, editor · b. 1930

Questions about Imboden’s history

What year was Imboden founded?

In 1828, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Imboden’s post office opened in 1883, and the census of 1890 counted 157 people here.

What is on the National Register in Imboden?

Three places: the St. Louis-San Francisco Overpass (listed 1990), the Dr. John Octavius Hatcher House (1992) and the Imboden Methodist Episcopal Church, South (2004).

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 (6), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, 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.