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History · Ratcliff

Ratcliff’s post office opened in 1900, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Ratcliff was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. Its Register listing is the Saint Anthony's Catholic Church. Below: maps from 1887 on and the census since 1910.

1900first post office
1on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Ratcliff began

When was Ratcliff founded?

1900

The Ratcliff post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, National (1881), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 175 in 19102020 census: 167126 years
Founding year: the first Ratcliff post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Ratcliff’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 Ratcliff are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18873 editions of the USGS map, 1887 to 1993. Watch Ratcliff change.Boom and bustPeaked at 337 in 1940; 167 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ratcliff’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ratcliff’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

Ratcliff on the map, 1887 to 1993

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

Ratcliff on the 1887 USGS mapRatcliff on the 1966 USGS mapRatcliff on the 1993 USGS map1887Magazine Mountain #2 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 Ratcliff.

People over time

Ratcliff, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 337

Peaked at 337 in 1940; 167 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story so far

Ratcliff, in brief

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

Ratcliff is a city in Logan County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, Ratcliff had a population of 167.

Its first post office opened in 1900. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 202 to 167 (-17%).

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

Timeline

Ratcliff, 1881 to 1940

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881Post officeThe National post office opens
  3. 1887On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900Post officeThe National post office closes
  6. 1900Post officeThe Ratcliff post office opens
  7. 1906Born hereRollie Stiles is born here
  8. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 337
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the National Register

1 historic place in Ratcliff

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1986
Saint Anthony's Catholic Church
Saint Anthony's Catholic Church
Buildings
Saint Anthony's Catholic ChurchBuilding

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Ratcliff’s post office has been open since 1900. Another post office, National, opened and closed inside today’s town.

National
1881–1900
Ratcliff
1900–today
18801950today

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

Questions about Ratcliff’s history

What year was Ratcliff founded?

The Ratcliff post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Ratcliff?

One place: the Saint Anthony's Catholic Church (listed 1986).

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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.