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History · Lockesburg

Lockesburg’s post office opened in 1870, and 5 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Lockesburg was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1951 on and the census since 1880.

1870first post office
5on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Lockesburg began

When was Lockesburg founded?

1870

The Lockesburg post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 256 in 18802020 census: 594156 years
Founding year: the first Lockesburg post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Lockesburg’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 Lockesburg are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 794 in 1920; 594 people lived here in 2020.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lockesburg’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lockesburg’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
People over time

Lockesburg, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 794

Peaked at 794 in 1920; 594 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

On the National Register

5 historic places in Lockesburg

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

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
1990
Little Cossatot River Bridge
Little Cossatot River BridgeFirst United Methodist ChurchLockesburg WaterworksLockesburg High School Gymnasium, built 1952De Queen & Eastern Railroad Overpass
BuildingsStructures
Little Cossatot River BridgeStructure
First United Methodist ChurchBuilding
Lockesburg WaterworksStructure
All 5 listings
Lockesburg High School GymnasiumBuilding · listed 2018De Queen & Eastern Railroad OverpassStructure · listed 2023

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

The story

How Lockesburg came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lockesburg.

Read it all →

Though Lockesburg became the county seat on January 18, 1869, it was not incorporated until November 7, 1878. The land was donated by three members of a prominent local family—James, William, and Matthew Locke—and one Royal Appleton, for creation of a new county seat after an area of Sevier County was carved away to become part of newly created Little River County, and the existing county seat, Paraclifta, was no longer centrally located. The town’s growth was stunted when a major railroad bypassed the town for De Queen in 1897, along with a subsequent loss of county seat status to De Queen in 1905. But the timber industry served to boost the fortunes of the town in the 20th century.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lockesburg, 1870 to 1952

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870Post officeThe Lockesburg post office opens
  3. 1883Born hereEffiegene Locke Wingo is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 794
  6. 1922Born hereHershel Friday is born here
  7. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1952BuiltLockesburg High School Gymnasium is built
By decade

Lockesburg, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Lockesburg Waterworks2016Lockesburg WaterworksARMap-doton-Lockesburg2005ARMap-doton-Lockesburg
On the map

Lockesburg on the map, 1951 to 1978

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

Lockesburg on the 1951 USGS mapLockesburg on the 1978 USGS map1951Lockesburg 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 Lockesburg.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Lockesburg

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

See all →
Effiegene Locke WingoAmerican politician · b. 1883
H
Hershel FridayAmerican lawyer · b. 1922

Questions about Lockesburg’s history

What year was Lockesburg founded?

The Lockesburg post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Lockesburg?

5 listings: 2 buildings and 3 structures.

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 (2), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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.