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C+History
History · Marked Tree

Marked Tree’s post office opened in 1888, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 41% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Marked Tree was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 10 buildings between them. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1908 on, and the census since 1900.

1888first post office
2on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
7old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Marked Tree’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Marked Tree began

When was Marked Tree founded?

1888

The Marked Tree post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 352 in 19002020 census: 2,286138 years

How historic is Marked Tree?

C+

More historic than 41% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Marked Tree post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Marked Tree’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Marked Tree is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Marked Tree’s overall grade.
Founding era1888, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19403.1% of homes (±2.2) · typical AR town 3.1% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register2 listings, 10 historic buildings, 44.5 per 10,000 residents · typical AR town 20.5 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 41%
NewerOlder

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 Marked Tree’s 44.5 sits above most of its state (68% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 10 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% 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 (±2.2 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

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 Marked Tree’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Boom and bustPeaked at 3,229 in 1970; 2,286 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1908 to 1919, drew every building in Marked Tree.
★ What stands out · People over time

Marked Tree, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,229

Peaked at 3,229 in 1970; 2,286 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Every building

Marked Tree, building by building, 1908–1919

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.

Marked Tree fire insurance map, 1908, sheet 11908Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Marked Tree came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Marked Tree.

Read it all →

The city got its name from a tree located on the bank of the St. Francis River until 1890 that had been blazed to mark a section of the river where Native Americans could walk about 120 yards (110 m) across land to reach the Little River and avoid paddling 12 mi (19 km) upstream. Marked Tree has been noted on lists of unusual place names.

In 1896, The Commercial Appeal reported that around eight years prior, the town had been a place where "no negroes were allowed to live in Marked Tree, and a delegation of citizens was organized to drive them out."

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Marked Tree, 1888 to 1971

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888Post officeThe Marked Tree post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1922Born hereShelby Westbrook is born here
  5. 1935In the archiveH. L. Mitchell and Ward H. Rodgers at Rodgers' "anarchy" trial, in Marked Tree, Arkansas,…
  6. 1941On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 3,229
  8. 1971In the archiveBennie “Mama” McGuire, midwife
By decade

Marked Tree, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s6 items
H. L. Mitchell and Ward H. Rodgers at Rodgers' "anarchy" trial, in Marked Tree, Arkansas, 19351935H. L. Mitchell and Ward H. Rodgers at Rodgers' "anarc…Inhabitants of Marked Tree, Arkansas1935Inhabitants of Marked Tree, ArkansasMain street1935Main streetOn road to Marked Tree, Arkansas1935On road to Marked Tree, ArkansasUntitled photo, possibly related to: Inhabitants of Marked Tree, Arkansas1935Untitled photo, possibly related to: Inhabitants of M…Children chopping cotton. Near Marked Tree, Arkansas. (Ages, left to right: ten years, thirteen years, eight years)1936Children chopping cotton. Near Marked Tree, Arkansas.…
1940s–1960snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
1970s1 item
Bennie “Mama” McGuire, midwife1971Bennie “Mama” McGuire, midwife
1980s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today11 recent
Marked Tree Commercial Historic District2020Marked Tree Commercial Historic DistrictMarked Tree AR 2014-03-19 0092014Marked Tree AR 2014-03-19 009Marked Tree AR 2014-03-19 0082014Marked Tree AR 2014-03-19 008Marked Tree AR 2014-03-19 0072014Marked Tree AR 2014-03-19 007Marked Tree AR 2014-03-19 0062014Marked Tree AR 2014-03-19 006Marked Tree AR 2014-03-19 0052014Marked Tree AR 2014-03-19 005Marked Tree AR 2014-03-02 0032014Marked Tree AR 2014-03-02 003AR State Highway 42 sign near Earle AR 2014-03-28 0022014AR State Highway 42 sign near Earle AR 2014-03-28 002AR State Highway 42 sign near Earle AR 2014-03-28 0012014AR State Highway 42 sign near Earle AR 2014-03-28 0010 Marked Tree AR 2014-03-19 00220140 Marked Tree AR 2014-03-19 002ARMap-doton-Marked Tree2005ARMap-doton-Marked Tree
On the map

Marked Tree on the map, 1941 to 1983

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

Marked Tree on the 1941 USGS mapMarked Tree on the 1956 USGS mapMarked Tree on the 1983 USGS map1941Marked Tree 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 Marked Tree.

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.

H. L. Mitchell and Ward H. Rodgers at Rodgers' "anarchy" trial, in Marked Tree, Arkansas, 1935
Retake this viewH. L. Mitchell and Ward H. Rodgers at Rodgers' "anarchy" trial, in Marked Tree, Arkansas, 1935, 1935

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Marked Tree’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 listings protect 10 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
10
each building in a district counts
first listed
2009
Highway A-7, Bridges Historic District
Highway A-7, Bridges Historic DistrictMarked Tree Commercial Historic District
Districts
All 2 listings
Highway A-7, Bridges Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2009Marked Tree Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2009

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

Help out

Finish Marked Tree’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewH. L. Mitchell and Ward H. Rodgers at R…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Marked Tree’s history

What year was Marked Tree founded?

The Marked Tree post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Marked Tree rank for history?

Marked Tree is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns. 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 Marked Tree?

Two places: the Highway A-7, Bridges Historic District (listed 2009) and the Marked Tree Commercial Historic District (2009).

How old are the homes in Marked Tree?

3% of Marked Tree’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 1971.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (13), the Library of Congress (5), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.