Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 62% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Judsonia was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. 9 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 1 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1913 on, and the census since 1880.
Judsonia dates its founding to 1840 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.
More historic than 62% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Judsonia is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Judsonia’s 43.9 sits above most of its state (68% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 9 listings outnumber those of 75% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Judsonia’s history is told.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyFrom Wikipedia’s history of Judsonia.
Originally known as Prospect Bluff, the town was founded in 1840 by Erastus Gregory. In 1871, a Baptist school, Judson University, was established in the area. A few months later, the name Prospect Bluff was changed to Judsonia, after the Baptist missionary Adoniram Judson, to help promote the school, which drew many northerners to the area.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Judsonia. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Judsonia.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1913Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Judsonia’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 267 and 2,025 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Judsonia’s Wikipedia page.
Judsonia’s post office has been open since 1872. Another post office, Prospect Bluff, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
In 1840, according to Wikidata. Judsonia’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1880 counted 267 people here.
Judsonia is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns. 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.
9 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Alfred W. Henson House (listed 1986, the first), 1 historic district, the Judsonia Community Building Historic District, with 1 contributing buildings, 1 structure, and 1 object.
3% of Judsonia’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 1983.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (3), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (9), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
Date?
2024
2016
2005
