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History · Jasper

Jasper’s post office opened in 1843, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

6 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 30 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1967 on and the census since 1880.

1843first post office
6on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Jasper began

When was Jasper founded?

1843

The Jasper post office opened in 1843, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 91 in 18802020 census: 547183 years
Founding year: the first Jasper post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Jasper’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 Jasper are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Landmarks on the Register6 places on the National Register.Deep rootsA post office since 1843: 183 years of Jasper.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Jasper’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Jasper’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

6 listings protect 35 historic buildings

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

places listed
6
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
35
each building in a district counts
first listed
1992
Dr. Hudson Sanitarium Agricultural Building His…
Newton County CourthouseNewton County JailJasper Commercial Historic DistrictDermott Commercial Historic DistrictJones, Gould, Reservoir
BuildingsDistrictsStructures
Newton County CourthouseBuilding
Newton County JailBuilding
Jasper Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict
Dermott Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict
All 6 listings
Dr. Hudson Sanitarium Agricultural Building Historic DistrictBuilding · listed 1992Jones, Gould, ReservoirStructure · listed 1998

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

The story so far

Jasper, in brief

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

Jasper is a city in and the county seat of Newton County, Arkansas, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population is 547. Jasper is part of the Harrison Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1843. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 466 to 547 (+17%).

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

By decade

Jasper, decade by decade

Today7 recent
Lost Gold of the Ozarks (Unsplash)2017Lost Gold of the Ozarks (Unsplash)Lit (Unsplash)2017Lit (Unsplash)Ozark Cafe2015Ozark CafeJasper, Arkansas Skies2015Jasper, Arkansas SkiesCedar Glades Pond2013Cedar Glades PondScenic view of the Ozark Mountains - Jasper - Arkansas - USA2010Scenic view of the Ozark Mountains - Jasper - Arkansa…ARMap-doton-Jasper2005ARMap-doton-Jasper
On the map

Jasper on the map, 1967 to 1985

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

Jasper on the 1967 USGS mapJasper on the 1985 USGS map1967Jasper sheet · 1:24,000

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

People over time

Jasper, census by census

010020030040050060018801900192019401960198020002020547

Grew from 91 people in 1880 to 547 in 2020, 6 times over.

13 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Jasper

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

See all →
Ronnie HawkinsAmerican musician · b. 1935
Helen Gurley BrownAmerican author, publisher, and businesswoman · b. 1922
Gary MillerAmerican politician · b. 1948
Elton BrittCountry music guitarist and singer-songwriter · b. 1912
Davis Tutt19th-century American Old West gambler · b. 1836
John Paul HammerschmidtAmerican politician · b. 1922

Questions about Jasper’s history

What year was Jasper founded?

The Jasper post office opened in 1843, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Jasper?

6 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Dr. Hudson Sanitarium Agricultural Building Historic District (listed 1992, the first), 2 historic districts, the Jasper Commercial Historic District and the Dermott Commercial Historic District, with 30 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 35 historic buildings in all.

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 (7), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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.