Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Jacksonville

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
CHistory
History · Jacksonville

Jacksonville dates to 1870, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 26% of U.S. towns · #82 of 123 in Arkansas. What drives it

Most of Jacksonville was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. 4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 7 buildings. Below: maps from 1943 on and the census since 1950.

1870founded
4on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
10famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Jacksonville began

When was Jacksonville founded?

1870

Jacksonville dates its founding to 1870 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1950.

First census: 2,474 in 19502020 census: 29,477156 years

How historic is Jacksonville?

C

More historic than 26% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1835.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Jacksonville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jacksonville is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #82 of 123 in Arkansas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Jacksonville’s overall grade.
Founding era1870, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.2% of homes (±0.8) · typical AR town 3.1% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register4 listings, 9 historic buildings, 3.1 per 10,000 residents · typical AR town 20.5 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 26%
NewerOlder
Arkansas towns of 2,500+ (123)Ahead of 34%

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 Jacksonville’s 3.1 sits below most of its state (28% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 9 historic buildings outnumber those of 75% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1870.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Jacksonville’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 Jacksonville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.Famous sons and daughtersKris Allen, Rocky Gray and 8 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Jacksonville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Jacksonville’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
On the National Register

4 historic places in Jacksonville

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
9
each building in a district counts
first listed
2002
Bayou Meto (Reed's Bridge) Battlefield
Bayou Meto (Reed's Bridge) BattlefieldMcCraw CemeteryJacksonville Commercial Historic DistrictWest-Blazer House
BuildingsDistrictsSites
Bayou Meto (Reed's Bridge) BattlefieldSite
McCraw CemeterySite
Jacksonville Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict
All 4 listings
West-Blazer HouseBuilding · listed 2017

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

Famous people

10 famous people were born in Jacksonville

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
K
Kris AllenAmerican musician and singer-songwriter · b. 1985
R
Rocky GrayAmerican musician · b. 1974
N
Nick SmithAmerican basketball player · b. 2004
Homer Martin Adkins32nd Governor of Arkansas · b. 1890
Clinton McDonaldPlayer of American football · b. 1987
B
Bob JohnsonAmerican businessman and politician · b. 1953
The story

How Jacksonville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Jacksonville.

Read it all →

The city is named for Nicholas Jackson, a landowner who deeded the land for the railroad right-of-way to the Cairo & Fulton Railroad in 1870. The community evolved from the settlement surrounding the railroad depot, eventually incorporating in 1941. In 1941, construction began on the Arkansas Ordnance Plant (AOP), which served as the primary facility for the development of fuses and detonators for World War II. Following the war, AOP ceased operations and the land was sold for commercial interests, including the development of the Little Rock Air Force Base in 1955. Today, portions of AOP still remain, including the Arkansas Ordnance Plant Guard House, which is on the National Register of Historic Places and the Jacksonville Museum of Military History. Despite Pulaski County being an Arkansas county that is not a "dry" county, as it allows the sales of beer and liquor, the municipal lim…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Jacksonville, 1835 to 2004

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1835Post officeThe Bayou Metre post office opens
  3. 1836Post officeThe Bayou Metre post office closes
  4. 1870
    FoundingJacksonville is established
  5. 1871Post officeThe Jacksonville post office opens
  6. 1890Born hereHomer Martin Adkins is born here
  7. 20th century
  8. 1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1974Born hereRocky Gray is born here
  10. 1985Born hereKris Allen is born here
  11. 21st century
  12. 2004Born hereNick Smith is born here
By decade

Jacksonville, decade by decade

Today18 recent
EF3 tornado damage to a brick building in2023EF3 tornado damage to a brick building inNot the ordinary piece of art but one created by sculptor Lonnie Taylor exclusively from recycled materials in the Ron …2020Not the ordinary piece of art but one created by scul…Not the ordinary piece of art but one created by sculptor Lonnie Taylor exclusively from recycled materials in the Ron …2020Not the ordinary piece of art but one created by scul…Not the ordinary piece of art but one created by sculptor Lonnie Taylor exclusively from recycled materials in the Ron …2020Not the ordinary piece of art but one created by scul…Not the ordinary piece of art but one created by sculptor Lonnie Taylor exclusively from recycled materials in the Ron …2020Not the ordinary piece of art but one created by scul…The Ineos Composites plant, which produces polyester resins2020The Ineos Composites plant, which produces polyester …Old cabin at Reed's Bridge Battleground Park2020Old cabin at Reed's Bridge Battleground ParkOld cabin at Reed's Bridge Battleground Park2020Old cabin at Reed's Bridge Battleground ParkOld cabin at Reed's Bridge Battleground Park2020Old cabin at Reed's Bridge Battleground ParkSurviving chimney at Reed's Bridge Battleground Park2020Surviving chimney at Reed's Bridge Battleground ParkCannon at Reed's Bridge Battleground Park2020Cannon at Reed's Bridge Battleground ParkArkansas Highway 294 in2016Arkansas Highway 294 inArkansas Highway 161 in2016Arkansas Highway 161 inJacksonville, AR 0072015Jacksonville, AR 007Jacksonville, AR 0032015Jacksonville, AR 003Air Force reservists give back to community 120715-F-OC807-0712012Air Force reservists give back to community 120715-F-…Flooding - Jacksonville, Ark. , May 16, 2011 -- A Community Relations specialist show a resident a FEMA disaster flyer.…2011Flooding - Jacksonville, Ark. , May 16, 2011 -- A Com…Sonic Drive in2007Sonic Drive in
On the map

Jacksonville on the map, 1943 to 1987

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

Jacksonville on the 1943 USGS mapJacksonville on the 1954 USGS mapJacksonville on the 1970 USGS mapJacksonville on the 1987 USGS map1943Jacksonville sheet · 1:31,680

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Jacksonville.

People over time

Jacksonville, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,0001960198020002020Peak: 29,916

Between 2,474 and 29,916 people in every census since 1950.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Jacksonville’s post office has been open since 1871. Another post office, Bayou Metre, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Bayou Metre
1835–1836
Jacksonville
1871–today
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
HeadToneyville
Gone or out of use
Central SchoolschoolDavis ChapelchurchFriendship ChurchchurchVaughn Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Jacksonville
Bayou MetoChapel Hill Memorial ParkNorth Hills Memorial Gardens

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Sherwood2 historic placesD

Questions about Jacksonville’s history

What year was Jacksonville founded?

In 1870, according to Wikidata. Jacksonville’s post office opened in 1835, and the census of 1950 counted 2,474 people here.

How does Jacksonville rank for history?

Jacksonville is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #82 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.

What is on the National Register in Jacksonville?

4 listings: 1 building, 1 historic district, the Jacksonville Commercial Historic District, with 7 contributing buildings, and 2 sites. 9 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Jacksonville?

1% of Jacksonville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 1979.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (8), the Library of Congress (10), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.