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AHistory
History · Nashville

Nashville dates to 1835, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 85% of U.S. towns · #2 of 123 in Arkansas. What drives it

8 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 27 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1908 on, and the census since 1880.

1835founded
8on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Nashville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Nashville began

When was Nashville founded?

1835

Nashville dates its founding to 1835 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 172 in 18802020 census: 4,153191 years

How historic is Nashville?

A

More historic than 85% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1848.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Nashville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Nashville is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #2 of 123 in Arkansas. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Nashville’s overall grade.
Founding era1835, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194014.5% of homes (±6.0) · typical AR town 3.1% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register8 listings, 39 historic buildings, 96.0 per 10,000 residents · typical AR town 20.5 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 85%
NewerOlder
Arkansas towns of 2,500+ (123)#2 of 123

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 Nashville’s 96.0 sits above most of its state (84% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 39 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% 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 (±6.0 points). Two sources give 1835.

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 Nashville’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Nashville Commercial Historic District takes in 27 historic buildings.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1908 to 1919, drew every building in Nashville.Landmarks on the Register8 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Nashville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewThe Elberta, Nashville, Arkansas (88237): stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

8 listings protect 39 historic buildings

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

places listed
8
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
39
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Flavius Holt House
Flavius Holt HouseWomack-Parker HouseElbert W. Holt HouseHoward County CourthouseNashville American Legion BuildingGarrett Whiteside Hall, built 1907Nashville Post OfficeNashville Commercial Historic District
BuildingsDistricts
Flavius Holt HouseBuilding
Womack-Parker HouseBuilding
Elbert W. Holt HouseBuilding
Howard County CourthouseBuilding
Nashville American Legion BuildingBuilding
Garrett Whiteside HallBuilt 1907
Nashville Post OfficeBuilding
Nashville Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict

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

Every building

Nashville, 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.

Nashville fire insurance map, 1908, sheet 11908Sheet 1 of 4
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 Nashville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Nashville.

Read it all →

Mine Creek Baptist Church was built along the banks of Mine Creek by the Rev. Isaac Cooper Perkins (1790–1852) in the area where Nashville now stands around 1835. Settlers later established a post stop along the settlement roads in 1840, and a post office incorporated in 1848. Michael Womack (1794–1861), a Tennessee native reputed to have killed the British general Edward Pakenham during the War of 1812, settled in the area with his family in 1849. The area was then known by locals as "Mine Creek", but was also called "Hell's Valley" and "Pleasant Valley".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Nashville, 1835 to 1951

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1835
    FoundingNashville is established
  3. 1848Post officeThe Mine Creek post office opens
  4. 1856Post officeThe Mine Creek post office closes
  5. 1856Post officeThe Nashville post office opens
  6. 1869Born hereEffie Anderson Smith is born here
  7. 20th century
  8. 1902Born hereTrevor Bardette is born here
  9. 1907BuiltGarrett Whiteside Hall is built
  10. 1930In the archiveThe Elberta, Nashville, Arkansas (88237)
  11. 1938Born herePat Cupp is born here
  12. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Nashville, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s1 item
The Elberta, Nashville, Arkansas (88237)c. 1930The Elberta, Nashville, Arkansas (88237)
1940s–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
Nashville, AR 0072024Nashville, AR 007Nashville, AR 0062024Nashville, AR 006Nashville, AR 0052024Nashville, AR 005Nashville, AR 0032024Nashville, AR 003Highway 369 in2024Highway 369 inWomack-Parker House2016Womack-Parker HouseNashville American Legion Building2016Nashville American Legion BuildingGarrett Whiteside Hall2016Garrett Whiteside HallFlavius Holt House2016Flavius Holt HouseElbert W. Holt House2016Elbert W. Holt HouseARMap-doton-Nashville2005ARMap-doton-Nashville
On the map

Nashville on the map in 1951

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Nashville.

Nashville on the 1951 USGS map1951Nashville sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Nashville.

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.

The Elberta, Nashville, Arkansas (88237)
Retake this viewThe Elberta, Nashville, Arkansas (88237), c. 1930

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Nashville, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 4,878

Between 172 and 4,878 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Nashville

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

See all →
Trevor BardetteAmerican actor · b. 1902
Effie Anderson SmithArizona Impressionist landscape painter · b. 1869
P
Pat CuppAmerican musician · b. 1938
D
DeAnna HodgesAmerican politician in Arkansas
E
Ezzrett AndersonPlayer of American and Canadian football · b. 1920
J
Johnny MartinAmerican football player · b. 1916
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Nashville’s post office has been open since 1856. Another post office, Mine Creek, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Mine Creek
1848–1856
Nashville
1856–today
18401930today
1cemetery inside Nashville
Nashville

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

Questions about Nashville’s history

What year was Nashville founded?

In 1835, according to Wikidata. Nashville’s post office opened in 1848, and the census of 1880 counted 172 people here.

How does Nashville rank for history?

Nashville is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #2 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 Nashville?

8 listings: 7 buildings, among them the Flavius Holt House (listed 1978, the first), and 1 historic district, the Nashville Commercial Historic District, with 27 contributing buildings. 39 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Nashville?

15% of Nashville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 1972.

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 (12), Wikidata (6), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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.