Monticello’s post office opened in 1849, and 17 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 77% of U.S. towns · #8 of 123 in Arkansas. What drives it
Most of Monticello was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. 17 places in town are on the National Register, among them four historic districts with 67 buildings between them. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Monticello post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Monticello’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Monticello is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #8 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 Monticello’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 Monticello’s 95.7 sits above most of its state (84% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 79 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% 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 (±3.4 points). 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 Monticello’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.
Every building
Monticello, building by building, 1886–1920
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.
1886Sheet 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.
When Drew County was founded on November 26, 1846, it was a sparsely settled frontier. A hilltop settlement named Rough and Ready, named for Zachary Taylor, was the primary settlement in the county at the time of creation and served as the first county seat. The community became infamous for fights, duels, and lawlessness. When the county sought to build the first courthouse in 1851, it was decided to move 1 mile (1.6 km) north and establish a new town, Monticello. The only remnant of the old frontier village is Rough and Ready Cemetery, now located within city limits. Monticello was incorporated December 20, 1852; early settlers were proponents of Jeffersonianism and thus named the town for Thomas Jefferson's famous Monticello plantation near Charlottesville, Virginia.
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.
Monticello’s post office has been open since 1849.
Hamlets and corners on the map
BowserKillin
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Monticello
LawsonOakland
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Monticello’s history
What year was Monticello founded?
The Monticello post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Monticello rank for history?
Monticello is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #8 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 Monticello?
17 listings: 11 buildings, among them the Hotchkiss House (listed 1976, the first), 4 historic districts with 67 contributing buildings, 1 site, and 1 object. 79 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Monticello?
7% of Monticello’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.4 points), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (17), 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
2014
2014
2006
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