Magnolia dates to 1853, and 15 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 46% of U.S. towns · #50 of 123 in Arkansas. What drives it
Most of Magnolia was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. 15 places in town are on the National Register, among them five historic districts with 64 buildings between them. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1860.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1854.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Magnolia’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Magnolia is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #50 of 123 in Arkansas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Magnolia’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 Magnolia’s 68.8 sits above most of its state (78% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 75 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share (±2.0 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1853.
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 Magnolia’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The city was founded in 1853. At the time of its incorporation in 1858, the city had a population of about 1,950.
On November 11, 1919 Jordan Jameson was lynched in the town square of Magnolia. A large white mob seized Jameson after he allegedly shot the local sheriff. They tied him to a stake and burned him alive.
The city grew slowly as an agricultural and regional cotton market until the discovery of oil just east of the city in March 1938, with the Barnett No. 1 drilled by the Kerr-Lynn Company. The Magnolia Oil Field was an important discovery for the city as well as for the nation, as it was the largest producing field (in volume) during the early years of World War II, helping to sustain the American war effort.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Magnolia. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1968Magnolia 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 Magnolia.
Every building
Magnolia, building by building, 1886–1917
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.
1886Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Arkansas - Columbia County - Magnolia - ED 14-19, ED 14-20, ED 14-21, 1880
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Magnolia’s page.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Magnolia’s post office has been open since 1854. Another post office, Magnesia, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Magnolia
1854–today
Magnesia
1898–1903
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Partee
Gone or out of use
Columbia Oil and Gas FieldoilfieldSanders Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Magnolia
MagnoliaMagnolia Memorial Park
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Magnolia’s history
What year was Magnolia founded?
In 1853, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Magnolia’s post office opened in 1854, and the census of 1860 counted 424 people here.
How does Magnolia rank for history?
Magnolia is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #50 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 Magnolia?
15 listings: 9 buildings, among them the Columbia County Courthouse (listed 1978, the first), 5 historic districts with 64 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 75 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Magnolia?
3% of Magnolia’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 1977.
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 (11), the Library of Congress (8), Wikidata (11), the National Register of Historic Places (15), 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.
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