Pottsville’s post office opened in 1897, and 4 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 31% of U.S. towns · #78 of 123 in Arkansas. What drives it
Most of Pottsville was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. 4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 3 buildings. Below: maps from 1890 on and the census since 1900.
The Pottsville post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Potts Station (1874) and Holla Bend (1890), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 192 in 19002020 census: 3,140129 years
How historic is Pottsville?
C
More historic than 31% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Pottsville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Pottsville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pottsville is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns, #78 of 123 in Arkansas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pottsville’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 Pottsville’s 18.6 sits near the middle of its state (52% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share (±1.7 points) is firm at this size. 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 Pottsville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Pottsville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1890Dardanelle sheet · 1:125,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Pottsville.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Pottsville’s post office has been open since 1897. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Potts Station
1874–1897
Holla Bend
1890–1907
Pottsville
1897–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Holla BendPisgahWorthen
Gone or out of use
Bethany ChurchchurchBethany SchoolschoolPisgah SchoolschoolPleasant Grove ChurchchurchPleasant Grove Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Pottsville
BethelPisgah
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Pottsville, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Pottsville yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Pottsville is a city in Pope County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 3,140. It is part of the Russellville Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Its first post office opened in 1897. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,838 to 3,140 (+11%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Pottsville, 1874 to 1933
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Pottsville post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Pottsville rank for history?
Pottsville is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns, #78 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 Pottsville?
4 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Potts Inn (listed 1970, the first), 1 historic district, the Pottsville Commercial Historic District, with 3 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 6 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Pottsville?
1% of Pottsville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 2002.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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) 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.
