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History · Stephens

Stephens’ post office opened in 1883, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Arkansas Highway 57 Bridge, the Dennis and Christine Garrison House and the Green Cemetery.

1883first post office
3on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Stephens began

When was Stephens founded?

1883

The Stephens post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1889.

2020 census: 770143 years
Founding year: the first Stephens post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1889.

What stands out about Stephens’ 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 Stephens are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Stephens’ homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Stephens’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Stephens’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
The story so far

Stephens, in brief

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

Stephens is a city in southwest Ouachita County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, Stephens had a population of 770. It is part of the Camden Micropolitan Statistical Area. Stephens was incorporated in 1889.

Its first post office opened in 1883. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 891 to 770 (-14%).

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

Timeline

Stephens, 1853 to 1948

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1853BuiltGreen Cemetery is built
  3. 1883Post officeThe Stephens post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1928BuiltArkansas Highway 57 Bridge is built
  6. 1937Born hereFrank Spooner is born here
  7. 1938Born hereDick Hughes is born here
  8. 1948Born hereBarbara Hendricks is born here
By decade

Stephens, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Security Bank in Stephens, AR IMG 22122009Security Bank in Stephens, AR IMG 2212First Baptist Church of Stephens, AR IMG 22112009First Baptist Church of Stephens, AR IMG 2211Church of Christ in Stephens, AR IMG 22752009Church of Christ in Stephens, AR IMG 2275Abandoned gasoline station in Stephens, AR IMG 22772009Abandoned gasoline station in Stephens, AR IMG 2277ARMap-doton-Stephens2005ARMap-doton-Stephens
On the National Register

3 historic places in Stephens

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
2005
Arkansas Highway 57 Bridge
Arkansas Highway 57 Bridge, built 1928Dennis and Christine Garrison HouseGreen Cemetery, built 1853
BuildingsSitesStructures
Arkansas Highway 57 BridgeBuilt 1928
Dennis and Christine Garrison HouseBuilding
All 3 listings
Green CemeterySite · listed 2017

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Stephens

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

See all →
Barbara HendricksAmerican operatic soprano and concert singer · b. 1948
Dick HughesAmerican baseball player · b. 1938
F
Frank SpoonerLouisiana oil and natural gas producer and Repu… · b. 1937
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Stephens’s post office has been open since 1883.

Gone or out of use
Wesson Oil and Gas Fieldoilfield

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

Questions about Stephens’ history

What year was Stephens founded?

The Stephens post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1889.

What is on the National Register in Stephens?

Three places: the Arkansas Highway 57 Bridge (listed 2005), the Dennis and Christine Garrison House (2005) and the Green Cemetery (2017).

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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.