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History · Reader

Reader’s post office opened in 1907

Below: maps from 1901 on and the census since 1930.

1907first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Photo: gregwest98 · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Reader began

When was Reader founded?

1907

The Reader post office opened in 1907, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Reeder (1888) and Sayre (1889), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 251 in 19302020 census: 40119 years
Founding year: the first Reader post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Reader’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 Reader are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19013 editions of the USGS map, 1901 to 1986. Watch Reader change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Reader, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Reader’s collection

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

Reader on the map, 1901 to 1986

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

Reader on the 1901 USGS mapReader on the 1970 USGS mapReader on the 1986 USGS map1901Gurdon 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 Reader.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Reader had its own post office from 1907 to 1908. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Reeder
1888–1889
Sayre
1889–1931
Reader
1907–1908
Reader
1913–1957
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Sayre

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

The story so far

Reader, in brief

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

Reader is an unincorporated census-designated place in Nevada and Ouachita counties in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, its population is 66. Per the 2020 census, the population was 40. The Nevada County portion of Reader is part of the Hope Micropolitan Statistical Area, while the Ouachita County portion is part of the Camden Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1907. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 66 to 40 (-39%).

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

Timeline

Reader, 1888 to 1931

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888Post officeThe Reeder post office opens
  3. 1889Post officeThe Reeder post office closes
  4. 1889Post officeThe Sayre post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1901On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1907Post officeThe Reader post office opens
  8. 1908Post officeThe Reader post office closes
  9. 1931Post officeThe Sayre post office closes
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.

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People over time

Reader, census by census

010020019401960198020002020Peak: 251

Between 40 and 251 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Reader

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

See all →
Ne-YoAmerican singer and songwriter · b. 1979
Mike HuckabeeGovernor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007 · b. 1955
Melinda DillonAmerican actress · b. 1939
Barbara HendricksAmerican operatic soprano and concert singer · b. 1948
Tommy TubervilleAmerican football coach and politician · b. 1954
Daniel DavisAmerican actor · b. 1945

Questions about Reader’s history

What year was Reader founded?

The Reader post office opened in 1907, 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 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.