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History · Oppelo

Oppelo’s post office opened in 1880

Most of Oppelo was built recently: 0.5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1889 on and the census since 1970.

1880first post office
0on the National Register
0.5%homes built before 1940
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Photo: TBKS1 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Oppelo began

When was Oppelo founded?

1880

The Oppelo post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 147 in 19702020 census: 737146 years
Founding year: the first Oppelo post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Oppelo’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 Oppelo are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18893 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1984. Watch Oppelo change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Oppelo’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Oppelo’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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On the map

Oppelo on the map, 1889 to 1984

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

Oppelo on the 1889 USGS mapOppelo on the 1961 USGS mapOppelo on the 1984 USGS map1889Morrilton No 3 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 Oppelo.

The story so far

Oppelo, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Oppelo yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Oppelo AH-pə-loh is a city in Conway County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, Oppelo had a population of 737.

Its first post office opened in 1880. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 781 to 737 (-6%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Oppelo, 1880 to 1913

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880Post officeThe Oppelo post office opens
  3. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1913Post officeThe Oppelo post office closes
By decade

Oppelo, decade by decade

Today8 recent
Arkansas State Highway 1542018Arkansas State Highway 154Untitled photo2015Untitled photoUntitled photo2015Untitled photoPictograph interpreted as a springtime fern fiddlehead2014Pictograph interpreted as a springtime fern fiddleheadUntitled photo2013Untitled photoA painted zoomorph at Petit Jean State Park2012A painted zoomorph at Petit Jean State ParkUntitled photo2007Untitled photoARMap-doton-Oppelo2005ARMap-doton-Oppelo
People over time

Oppelo, census by census

0200400600800198020002020Peak: 781

Between 147 and 781 people in every census since 1970.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Oppelo

Nobody well known was born in Oppelo itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
T
Tom CottonAmerican politician and army officer · b. 1977
Scott BradleyAmerican composer · b. 1891
Corliss WilliamsonAmerican basketball player · b. 1973
Steve WomackU.S. Representative from Arkansas · b. 1957
Rebecca RoanhorseAmerican speculative fiction author · b. 1971
Ray ThorntonAmerican politician · b. 1928
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Oppelo had its own post office from 1880 to 1913.

Oppelo
1880–1913
18801950today
1cemetery inside Oppelo
Wolfe

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

Questions about Oppelo’s history

What year was Oppelo founded?

The Oppelo post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (8), 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.