Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Marvell

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Marvell

Marvell’s post office opened in 1873, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Marvell was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Its Register listings are the First Baptist Church and the Mayo House. Below: maps from 1913 on and the census since 1880.

1873first post office
2on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Marvell began

When was Marvell founded?

1873

The Marvell post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 177 in 18802020 census: 855153 years
Founding year: the first Marvell post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Marvell’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 Marvell are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,980 in 1970; 855 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Marvell’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Marvell’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

Marvell, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,980

Peaked at 1,980 in 1970; 855 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Marvell came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Marvell.

Read it all →

Marvell was founded when Marvell M. Carruth and his wife, Rachel, sold 50 lots of land given to him by his father, Ladson Carruth, to the Arkansas Central Railroad. A train depot was soon established. Marvell became an un-incorporated town on May 28, 1873, with R.M. Jackson as its first mayor. Three years later, on October 3, 1876, Marvell became an incorporated town.

In 1877, the Union Trust foreclosed on the Arkansas Central Railroad and sold all of its assets at public auction.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Marvell, 1873 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Post officeThe Marvell post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1913Born hereWilliam Davis Mackey is born here
  5. 1926Born hereSam Carr is born here
  6. 1940On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 1,980
By decade

Marvell, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Mayo House2016Mayo HouseFirst Baptist Church2016First Baptist ChurchHighway 243 junction with US 492013Highway 243 junction with US 49Highway 1 in2013Highway 1 in
On the map

Marvell on the map, 1940 to 1971

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

Marvell on the 1940 USGS mapMarvell on the 1956 USGS mapMarvell on the 1971 USGS map1940Marvell 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 Marvell.

Every building

Marvell, building by building, 1913–1919

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.

Marvell fire insurance map, 1913, sheet 11913Sheet 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

2 historic places in Marvell

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1991
First Baptist Church
First Baptist ChurchMayo House
Buildings
First Baptist ChurchBuilding
Mayo HouseBuilding

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Marvell

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

See all →
S
Sam CarrAmerican blues drummer · b. 1926
W
William Davis MackeyAmerican politician · b. 1913
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Marvell’s post office has been open since 1873.

Gone or out of use
Neuka Spurlocale

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Marvell’s history

What year was Marvell founded?

The Marvell post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Marvell?

Two places: the First Baptist Church (listed 1991) and the Mayo House (1997).

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 (4), 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.