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B−History
History · McGehee

McGehee dates to 1878, and 9 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 47% of U.S. towns · #49 of 123 in Arkansas. What drives it

Most of McGehee was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1912 on, and the census since 1910.

1878founded
9on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From McGehee’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How McGehee began

When was McGehee founded?

1878

McGehee dates its founding to 1878 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 1,157 in 19102020 census: 3,849148 years

How historic is McGehee?

B−

More historic than 47% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1879.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives McGehee’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, McGehee is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #49 of 123 in Arkansas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of McGehee’s overall grade.
Founding era1878, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19407.8% of homes (±3.7) · typical AR town 3.1% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register9 listings, 24.5 per 10,000 residents · typical AR town 20.5 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 47%
NewerOlder
Arkansas towns of 2,500+ (123)Ahead of 61%

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 McGehee’s 24.5 sits near the middle of its state (58% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 9 listings outnumber those of 75% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±3.7 points). Two sources give 1878.

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 McGehee’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 5,671 in 1980; 3,849 people lived here in 2020.Landmarks on the Register9 places on the National Register.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1912 to 1920, drew every building in McGehee.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start McGehee’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

McGehee, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 5,671

Peaked at 5,671 in 1980; 3,849 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

On the National Register

9 historic places in McGehee

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

places listed
9
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
9
each building in a district counts
first listed
1989
Parnell-Sharpe House
Parnell-Sharpe HouseMissouri-Pacific Railroad Depot-McGeheeTemple Meir ChayimTrippe Holly Grove CemeteryJay Lewis HouseMcGehee National Guard ArmoryMcGehee Post OfficeMcGehee City JailMissouri Pacific Railway Van Noy Eating House
BuildingsSites
Parnell-Sharpe HouseBuilding
Missouri-Pacific Railroad Depot-McGeheeBuilding
Temple Meir ChayimBuilding
Trippe Holly Grove CemeterySite
Jay Lewis HouseBuilding
McGehee National Guard ArmoryBuilding
McGehee Post OfficeBuilding
McGehee City JailBuilding
All 9 listings
Missouri Pacific Railway Van Noy Eating HouseBuilding · listed 2011

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

The story

How McGehee came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of McGehee.

Read it all →

The history of the city of McGehee and the history of the railroad through McGehee are intricately interwoven. The history of the railroad dates back to 1870 when a railroad was constructed from Pine Bluff southeast through Varner, to Chicot County.

Important in the history of the town of McGehee is the McGehee family which came to the area from Alabama in 1857. Benjamin McGehee, his wife, Sarah, a son, Abner, and daughters Laura and Mary settled on land that is now a part of McGehee. Abner McGehee, son of Benjamin and Sarah McGehee, purchased 240 acres (0.97 km2) of land on July 1, 1876, on which the town of McGehee was later to be located.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

McGehee, 1878 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1878
    FoundingMcGehee is established
  3. 1879Post officeThe Mc Gehee post office opens
  4. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Arkansas - Desha County - McGehee - ED 21-1, ED 2…
  5. 20th century
  6. 1936On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1947Born hereWil Jones is born here
  8. 1950Born hereCaldwell Jones is born here
  9. 1957Born hereCharles Jones is born here
  10. 1959Born hereNancy A. Collins is born here
  11. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 5,671
By decade

McGehee, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s2 items
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Arkansas - Desha County - McGehee - ED 21-1, ED 21-218801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Arkansas - De…1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Arkansas - Desha County - McGehee - ED AR 21-1 to 518801950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Arkansas - De…
1890s–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
Today25 recent
Tupelo swamp in Wiley A McGehee Park in2026Tupelo swamp in Wiley A McGehee Park inBoardwalk at Wiley A McGehee Park2026Boardwalk at Wiley A McGehee ParkAR 159 turns east in2026AR 159 turns east inAR 159 north of AR 1 in2026AR 159 north of AR 1 inParnell-Sharpe House2016Parnell-Sharpe HouseMcGehee National Guard Armory2016McGehee National Guard ArmoryMcGehee City Jail2015McGehee City JailJay Lewis House2015Jay Lewis HouseMcGehee Train Stataion 0022014McGehee Train Stataion 002McGehee Train Stataion 0012014McGehee Train Stataion 001McGehee Park 0022014McGehee Park 002McGehee Park 0012014McGehee Park 001Highway 4 in2014Highway 4 inHighway 1 in McGehee, AR 0012014Highway 1 in McGehee, AR 001Arkansas Highway 1Y2014Arkansas Highway 1YUntitled photo2012Untitled photoUS 65, US 165, Great River Road in2012US 65, US 165, Great River Road inUS 65 and US 165 meet US 278 and Highway 4 in2012US 65 and US 165 meet US 278 and Highway 4 inRiceland - Silos along US Route 65 in2012Riceland - Silos along US Route 65 inHolly Grove Cemetery2012Holly Grove CemeteryHighway 169 junction with US 65 and US 165 in2012Highway 169 junction with US 65 and US 165 inHighway 169 at US 65 and US 165 in2012Highway 169 at US 65 and US 165 inHighway 1 from US 65 and US 165 in2012Highway 1 from US 65 and US 165 inMcGeheeProducersIncMcGeheeArkansas2007McGeheeProducersIncMcGeheeArkansasARMap-doton-McGehee2005ARMap-doton-McGehee
On the map

McGehee on the map, 1936 to 1955

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

McGehee on the 1936 USGS mapMcGehee on the 1955 USGS map1936McGehee 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 McGehee.

Every building

McGehee, building by building, 1912–1920

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.

McGehee fire insurance map, 1912, sheet 11912Sheet 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.

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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Arkansas - Desha County - McGehee - ED 21-1, ED 21-2
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Arkansas - Desha County - McGehee - ED 21-1, ED 21-2, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

9 famous people were born in McGehee

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

See all →
Caldwell JonesAmerican basketball player · b. 1950
Nancy A. CollinsAmerican writer · b. 1959
W
Wil JonesAmerican basketball player · b. 1947
Charles JonesAmerican basketball player · b. 1957
M
Major JonesAmerican basketball player · b. 1953
F
Freddie DouglasAmerican gridiron football player · b. 1954

Questions about McGehee’s history

What year was McGehee founded?

In 1878, according to Wikidata. McGehee’s post office opened in 1879, and the census of 1910 counted 1,157 people here.

How does McGehee rank for history?

McGehee is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #49 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 McGehee?

9 listings: 8 buildings, among them the Parnell-Sharpe House (listed 1989, the first), and 1 site.

How old are the homes in McGehee?

8% of McGehee’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.7 points), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 1974.

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 (27), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (9), 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.