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History · Subiaco

Subiaco’s post office opened in 1910, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Schriver House. Below: maps from 1887 on and the census since 1920.

1910first post office
1on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Subiaco began

When was Subiaco founded?

1910

The Subiaco post office opened in 1910, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Spielerville (1888), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 181 in 19202020 census: 401116 years
Founding year: the first Subiaco post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Subiaco’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 Subiaco 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 Subiaco change.Boom and bustPeaked at 744 in 1980; 401 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Subiaco’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Subiaco’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

Subiaco on the map, 1887 to 1993

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

Subiaco on the 1887 USGS mapSubiaco on the 1961 USGS mapSubiaco on the 1993 USGS map1887Magazine Mountain #1 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 Subiaco.

People over time

Subiaco, census by census

0200400600800192019401960198020002020Peak: 744

Peaked at 744 in 1980; 401 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

The story

How Subiaco came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Subiaco.

Read it all →

The development of both the abbey and the town were related to the expansion of the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad (LR&FS) in the area in the late 19th century. In 1877, it owned thousands of acres in Arkansas through federal subsidies for railroad development, and wanted to attract German Catholic immigrants to the region as settlers. The railroad came to an agreement with Abbot Martin Marty, O.S.B., of St. Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana, to grant the abbey land in Logan County to establish a monastery and school to serve the hoped-for settlers. The railroad granted 640 acres (260 ha) to the Benedictines to establish a monastery for monks, and an additional 100 acres (40 ha) to found a convent for Benedictine nuns.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Subiaco, 1887 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1888Post officeThe Spielerville post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1910Post officeThe Subiaco post office opens
  6. 1929Post officeThe Spielerville post office closes
  7. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 744
By decade

Subiaco, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Subiaco Station2020Subiaco StationSubiaco Depot with Mercantile Store2020Subiaco Depot with Mercantile StoreSubiaco AR2020Subiaco ARRailroad Inauguration2020Railroad InaugurationFirst Train2020First TrainSchriver House2014Schriver House
On the National Register

1 historic place in Subiaco

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
1995
Schriver House
Schriver House
Buildings
Schriver HouseBuilding

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Subiaco

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

See all →
T
Tom CottonAmerican politician and army officer · b. 1977
Roy BuchananAmerican blues musician · b. 1939
Dale BumpersAmerican politician · b. 1925
E
Elizabeth GracenAmerican actress · b. 1961
Bob WoottonAmerican guitarist · b. 1942
J
Johnny CarpenterAmerican actor · b. 1914
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Subiaco’s post office has been open since 1910. Another post office, Spielerville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Spielerville
1888–1929
Subiaco
1910–today
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Spielerville
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Subiaco
Saint BenedictSubiaco Abbey

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

Questions about Subiaco’s history

What year was Subiaco founded?

The Subiaco post office opened in 1910, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Subiaco?

One place: the Schriver House (listed 1995).

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.