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History · Palestine

Palestine’s post office opened in 1870

Most of Palestine was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Below: maps from 1940 on and the census since 1890.

1870first post office
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Thomas R Machnitzki ([email protected]) · CC BY 3.0
Quick answers

How Palestine began

When was Palestine founded?

1870

The Palestine post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 163 in 18902020 census: 506156 years
Founding year: the first Palestine post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Palestine’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 Palestine are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 976 in 1980; 506 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Palestine’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Palestine, census by census

02004006008001,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 976

Peaked at 976 in 1980; 506 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story so far

Palestine, in brief

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

Palestine is a town in St. Francis County, Arkansas, United States, along the L'Anguille River. The population was 506 at the 2020 census, a decline from 681 in 2010.

Its first post office opened in 1870. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 681 to 506 (-26%).

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

Timeline

Palestine, 1870 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870Post officeThe Palestine post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1940On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 976
By decade

Palestine, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Palestine AR 0132012Palestine AR 013Palestine AR 0112012Palestine AR 011Palestine AR 0092012Palestine AR 009Palestine AR 0082012Palestine AR 008Palestine AR 0072012Palestine AR 007Palestine AR 0062012Palestine AR 006Palestine AR 0052012Palestine AR 005Palestine AR 0042012Palestine AR 004Palestine AR 0032012Palestine AR 003Palestine AR 0022012Palestine AR 002Palestine AR 0012012Palestine AR 001ARMap-doton-Palestine2005ARMap-doton-Palestine
On the map

Palestine on the map, 1940 to 1984

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

Palestine on the 1940 USGS mapPalestine on the 1957 USGS mapPalestine on the 1984 USGS map1940Marianna 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 Palestine.

Famous people

Famous people close to Palestine

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

See all →
Al GreenAmerican singer · b. 1946
Sister Rosetta TharpeAmerican gospel musician · b. 1915
Louis JordanAmerican jazz, blues and rhythm and blues music… · b. 1908
Luther AllisonAmerican blues guitarist · b. 1939
Charlie RichAmerican country singer · b. 1932
Oliver LakeAmerican musician · b. 1942

Questions about Palestine’s history

What year was Palestine founded?

The Palestine post office opened in 1870, 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 (12), 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.