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History · Mammoth Spring

Mammoth Spring’s post office opened in 1879, and 5 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Mammoth Spring was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Below: maps from 1897 on and the census since 1900.

1879first post office
5on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Mammoth Spring began

When was Mammoth Spring founded?

1879

The Mammoth Spring post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 717 in 19002020 census: 929147 years
Founding year: the first Mammoth Spring post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Mammoth Spring’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 Mammoth Spring are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1897 to 1914, drew every building in Mammoth Spring.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mammoth Spring’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mammoth Spring’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
Every building

Mammoth Spring, building by building, 1897–1914

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.

Mammoth Spring fire insurance map, 1897, sheet 11897Sheet 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.

On the National Register

5 historic places in Mammoth Spring

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
1986
Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church
Saint Andrew's Episcopal ChurchT. H. Morris HouseKansas City, Fort Scott and Memphis Railroad Depot, built 1885Mammoth Spring Dam and LakeSpring River Bridge
BuildingsStructures
Saint Andrew's Episcopal ChurchBuilding
T. H. Morris HouseBuilding
Kansas City, Fort Scott and Memphis Railroad DepotBuilt 1885
Mammoth Spring Dam and LakeStructure
Spring River BridgeStructure

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

The story

How Mammoth Spring came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mammoth Spring.

Read it all →

The original village site was established in Missouri, near what was called the Harry Turnstall spring, now known as “Old Town.” Despite homesteading efforts by early settlers in the region, the spring was divided into multiple plots. It wasn't until the arrival of the Frisco Railroad in 1883, which extended its track from Springfield, Missouri, to Memphis, Tennessee, and established a station and depot between the spring and the Spring River, that the town shifted to the Arkansas side of the river.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Mammoth Spring, 1879 to 1957

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879Post officeThe Mammoth Spring post office opens
  3. 1885BuiltKansas City, Fort Scott and Memphis Railroad Depot is built
  4. 20th century
  5. 1925Born hereJames Robinson Risner is born here
  6. 1950Born hereTess Harper is born here
  7. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Mammoth Spring, decade by decade

Today9 recent
Mammoth Spring, Arkansas2024Mammoth Spring, ArkansasAR 289 Bridge Over English Creek2016AR 289 Bridge Over English CreekT.H. Morris House2015T.H. Morris HouseSpring River Bridge2015Spring River BridgeSaint Andrew's Episcopal Church2015Saint Andrew's Episcopal ChurchKansas City, Fort Scott and Memphis Railroad Depot2015Kansas City, Fort Scott and Memphis Railroad DepotRiverview Motel2014Riverview MotelMammoth Spring Train Station2014Mammoth Spring Train StationMammoth Spring 0102009Mammoth Spring 010
On the map

Mammoth Spring on the map, 1957 to 1960

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

Mammoth Spring on the 1957 USGS mapMammoth Spring on the 1960 USGS map1957Poplar Bluff sheet · 1:250,000

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

People over time

Mammoth Spring, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,158

Between 600 and 1,158 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Mammoth Spring

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

See all →
T
Tess HarperAmerican actress · b. 1950
James Robinson RisnerAmerican General, POW · b. 1925

Questions about Mammoth Spring’s history

What year was Mammoth Spring founded?

The Mammoth Spring post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Mammoth Spring?

5 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church (listed 1986, the first), and 2 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 (9), Wikidata (4), 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), 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.