Marianna dates to 1848, and 10 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 82% of U.S. towns · #4 of 123 in Arkansas. What drives it
Most of Marianna was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1968. 10 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 51 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1852.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Marianna’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Marianna is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #4 of 123 in Arkansas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Marianna’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 Marianna’s 184 sits above most of its state (96% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 63 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.3 points). Two sources give 1848.
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 Marianna’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Marianna, census by census
Peaked at 6,220 in 1980; 3,575 people lived here in 2020.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Marianna’s Wikipedia page.
Every building
Marianna, building by building, 1892–1919
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.
1892Sheet 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.
The community was established by Col. Walter H. Otey in 1848, and was known as Walnut Ridge until 1852.
Marianna hosted minor league baseball. In 1909, the Marianna Brickeys team played as members of the Class D level Northeast Arkansas League, finishing in third place in their only season of minor league play. The Marianna use of the "Brickeys" nickname corresponded to the city bricking the city streets in 1908.
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.
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.
In 1848, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Marianna’s post office opened in 1852, and the census of 1880 counted 627 people here.
How does Marianna rank for history?
Marianna is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #4 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 Marianna?
10 listings: 8 buildings, among them the McClintock House (listed 1977, the first), 1 historic district, the Marianna Commercial Historic District, with 51 contributing buildings, and 1 object. 63 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Marianna?
9% of Marianna’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.3 points), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 1968.
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 (2), the Library of Congress (4), the National Register of Historic Places (10), 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.
1880
1936
1936
1936
