Prairie Grove’s post office opened in 1867, and 10 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 40% of U.S. towns · #60 of 123 in Arkansas. What drives it
Most of Prairie Grove was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. 10 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 11 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1913 on and the census since 1890.
Founding year: the first Prairie Grove post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1888.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Prairie Grove’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Prairie Grove is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #60 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 Prairie Grove’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 Prairie Grove’s 20.5 sits near the middle of its state (54% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 16 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share (±2.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1888 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Prairie Grove’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Prairie Grove was the site of the Battle of Prairie Grove during the American Civil War. Confederate forces under General Thomas C. Hindman attempted to prevent the juncture of two Federal forces under Generals James G. Blunt and Francis J. Herron. The result of the battle was a tactical stalemate which assured permanent Union control of northwest Arkansas. The battlefield is now a State Military Park.
A post office has been in operation at Prairie Grove since 1867. Prairie Grove was platted in 1877. A 100-foot wind turbine near Prairie Grove was installed in the early 2000s.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Prairie Grove. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1970Prairie Grove 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 Prairie Grove.
Every building
Prairie Grove, building by building, 1913–1924
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.
1913Sheet 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.
People over time
Prairie Grove, census by census
Grew from 412 people in 1890 to 7,045 in 2020, more than tenfold.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Prairie Grove’s Wikipedia page.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Prairie Grove post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1888.
How does Prairie Grove rank for history?
Prairie Grove is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #60 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 Prairie Grove?
10 listings: 5 buildings, 2 historic districts, the North Mock Street Historic District and the Prairie Grove Commercial Historic District, with 11 contributing buildings, 3 sites, and 1 structure. 16 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Prairie Grove?
4% of Prairie Grove’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 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 Wikimedia Commons (5), the National Register of Historic Places (11), Wikipedia, 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.
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