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History · McDougal

McDougal dates to 1914

Most of McDougal was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1966. Below: maps from 1935 on and the census since 1960.

1914founded
0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How McDougal began

When was McDougal founded?

1914

McDougal dates its founding to 1914 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1960.

First census: 200 in 19602020 census: 134112 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1916.The full story ↓

What stands out about McDougal’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 McDougal are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 328 in 1970; 134 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start McDougal’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how McDougal’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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People over time

McDougal, census by census

01002003001960198020002020Peak: 328

Peaked at 328 in 1970; 134 people lived here in 2020.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

The story

How McDougal came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of McDougal.

Read it all →

McDougal was established in 1914 as a stop along a branch line of the Butler County Railroad connecting nearby Piggott with Poplar Bluff, Missouri, and serving the flourishing timber industry in the area. The city was probably named for a railroad worker. A depot and general store were constructed in 1914, and a post office opened in 1916. McDougal incorporated in 1954.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

McDougal, 1914 to 1970

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1914
    FoundingMcDougal is established
  3. 1916Post officeThe Mc Dougal post office opens
  4. 1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 328
By decade

McDougal, decade by decade

Today4 recent
McDougal-water-tower-ar2020McDougal-water-tower-arMcDougal-post-office-ar2020McDougal-post-office-arMcDougal-US62-ar2020McDougal-US62-arARMap-doton-McDougal2005ARMap-doton-McDougal
On the map

McDougal on the map, 1935 to 1984

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

McDougal on the 1935 USGS mapMcDougal on the 1958 USGS mapMcDougal on the 1960 USGS mapMcDougal on the 1984 USGS map1935Rector 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 McDougal.

Questions about McDougal’s history

What year was McDougal founded?

In 1914, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. McDougal’s post office opened in 1916, and the census of 1960 counted 200 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.