Rogers’ post office opened in 1881, and 24 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 34% of U.S. towns · #71 of 123 in Arkansas. What drives it
Most of Rogers was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. 24 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 51 buildings between them. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1896 on, and the census since 1890.
The Rogers post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Esculapia (1880), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,265 in 18902020 census: 69,908145 years
How historic is Rogers?
C
More historic than 34% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Rogers post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Rogers’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rogers is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #71 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 Rogers’ 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 Rogers’ 10.3 sits near the middle of its state (44% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 75 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% 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 (±0.6 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 Rogers’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Rogers was named after Captain Charles W. Rogers, who was vice-president and general manager of the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway, also known as the Frisco. The town was established in 1881, the year the Frisco line arrived; it was at this time the area residents honored Captain Rogers by naming it for him. The community was incorporated on June 6, 1881. In 1883, Rogers became the starting point of the Bentonville Railroad, which linked the town with Bentonville, about six miles. That line, under its subsequent owner the Arkansas and Oklahoma Railroad, later extended as far as Grove, Oklahoma. Today, only the Rogers-to-Bentonville segment remains in use.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Rogers. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1958Rogers 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 Rogers.
Every building
Rogers, building by building, 1896–1914
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.
The Rogers post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Rogers rank for history?
Rogers is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #71 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 Rogers?
24 listings: 22 buildings, among them the Mutual Aid Union Building (listed 1976, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Walnut Street Historic District and the Rogers Commercial Historic District, with 51 contributing buildings. 75 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Rogers?
2% of Rogers’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 1998.
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 (18), the Library of Congress (5), the National Register of Historic Places (24), Wikipedia, 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), 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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