More historic than 11% of U.S. towns · #104 of 123 in Arkansas. What drives it
Most of Lavaca was built recently: 0.4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Below: maps from 1906 on and the census since 1930.
The Lavaca post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1919. Another post office, Military Grove (1879), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 319 in 19302020 census: 2,450145 years
How historic is Lavaca?
D
More historic than 11% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Lavaca post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1919.
History grade
What drives Lavaca’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lavaca is more historic than 11% of U.S. towns, #104 of 123 in Arkansas. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lavaca’s overall grade.
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 Lavaca’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (11% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1919.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Lavaca’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lavaca. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1906Lavaca 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 Lavaca.
The story so far
Lavaca, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lavaca yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Lavaca ( lə-VAH-kə) is a city in Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 Census the population was 2,450. Lavaca was incorporated in 1919.
Its first post office opened in 1881. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,289 to 2,450 (+7%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Lavaca, 1879 to 1944
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Grew from 319 people in 1930 to 2,450 in 2020, 7 times over.
10 censuses, 1930–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lavaca’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Lavaca’s post office has been open since 1881. Another post office, Military Grove, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Military Grove
1879–1881
Lavaca
1881–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Diamond Grove
Gone or out of use
Flying W Air Park Incairport
1cemetery inside Lavaca
Measles Memorial
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Lavaca’s history
What year was Lavaca founded?
The Lavaca post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1919.
How does Lavaca rank for history?
Lavaca is more historic than 11% of U.S. towns, #104 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.
How old are the homes in Lavaca?
0.4% of Lavaca’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 1995.
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 (1), 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.
2005