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History · St. Joe

St. Joe dates to 1860, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Benjamin Franklin Henley House, the St. Joe Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad Depot and the Henley Hotel. Below: maps from 1893 on and the census since 1910.

1860founded
3on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How St. Joe began

When was St. Joe founded?

1860

St. Joe dates its founding to 1860 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 159 in 19102020 census: 129166 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1877.The full story ↓

What stands out about St. Joe’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 St. Joe are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18935 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1985. Watch St. Joe change.Boom and bustPeaked at 255 in 1930; 129 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start St. Joe’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how St. Joe’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

St. Joe on the map, 1893 to 1985

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

St. Joe on the 1893 USGS mapSt. Joe on the 1903 USGS mapSt. Joe on the 1929 USGS mapSt. Joe on the 1967 USGS mapSt. Joe on the 1985 USGS map1893Yellville 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 St. Joe.

People over time

St. Joe, census by census

0100200192019401960198020002020Peak: 255

Peaked at 255 in 1930; 129 people lived here in 2020.

6 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How St. Joe came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of St. Joe.

Read it all →

The town of St. Joe, Arkansas, was founded a few miles north of the Buffalo River around 1860 by Bill Campbell, Ben Henley Sr., Dr. George Turney, Captain Harry Love, Decatur Robinson, and Matt Tyson. Mill Creek, near the current post office on U.S. Highway 65, was the original town location. Wagon trains traveled from the town to Springfield, Missouri, where produce was sold and goods were purchased and brought back to the stores. The History and Folklore of Searcy County Arkansas states that St. Joe was originally called Monkey Run. The area came by its current name around 1900, when six miners from St. Joseph, Missouri, received the largest quantity of mail to come into the post office. The outpost eventually became known as St. Joe, Arkansas. Mines, and rumors of mines, feature largely in the story of St. Joe's past. It is worth noting that one of the nearby settlements is named S…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

St. Joe, 1860 to 1930

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1860
    FoundingSt. Joe is established
  3. 1877Post officeThe Saint Joe post office opens
  4. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1907Born hereBen C. Henley is born here
  7. 1917Born hereJesse Smith Henley is born here
  8. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 255
By decade

St. Joe, decade by decade

Today4 recent
USPO, Saint Joe, Arkansas2024USPO, Saint Joe, ArkansasHenley Hotel2016Henley HotelSt. Joe Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad Depot2015St. Joe Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad DepotARMap-doton-St. Joe2005ARMap-doton-St. Joe
On the National Register

3 historic places in St. Joe

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
Benjamin Franklin Henley House
Benjamin Franklin Henley HouseSt. Joe Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad DepotHenley Hotel
Buildings
Benjamin Franklin Henley HouseBuilding
St. Joe Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad DepotBuilding
Henley HotelBuilding

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in St. Joe

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
J
Jesse Smith HenleyUnited States federal judge · b. 1917
B
Ben C. HenleyArkansas lawyer, businessman, politician · b. 1907
Places that used to be

Old corners

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Saint Joe

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

Questions about St. Joe’s history

What year was St. Joe founded?

In 1860, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. St. Joe’s post office opened in 1877, and the census of 1910 counted 159 people here.

What is on the National Register in St. Joe?

Three places: the Benjamin Franklin Henley House (listed 1985), the St. Joe Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad Depot (1993) and the Henley Hotel (2011).

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 Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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) 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.