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C−History
History · Tontitown

Tontitown dates to 1898, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 21% of U.S. towns · #88 of 123 in Arkansas. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Tontitown School Building. Most of Tontitown was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2005. Below: maps from 1970 on and the census since 1910.

1898founded
1on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Tontitown began

When was Tontitown founded?

1898

Tontitown dates its founding to 1898 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 222 in 19102020 census: 4,301128 years

How historic is Tontitown?

C−

More historic than 21% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1900.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Tontitown’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Tontitown is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #88 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 Tontitown’s overall grade.
Founding era1898, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.4% of homes (±1.6) · typical AR town 3.1% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register1 listing, 1.6 per 10,000 residents · typical AR town 20.5 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 21%
NewerOlder
Arkansas towns of 2,500+ (123)Ahead of 29%

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 Tontitown’s 1.6 sits below most of its state (26% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share (±1.6 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1898.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Tontitown’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 Tontitown are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Tontitown’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Tontitown’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

How Tontitown came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Tontitown.

Read it all →

Led by Catholic priest Pietro Bandini, who eventually became mayor of the city, Italian settlers working on Sunnyside Plantation in the Arkansas Delta moved to northwest Arkansas and found the climate and terrain similar to their native Northern Italy. Tontitown was settled in 1898 and named for Italian explorer Henri de Tonti.

The 35 initial families settled on 10 acres (4.0 ha) plots, planting gardens and vineyards. In 1909, the community incorporated, having grown to 1,400 acres (570 ha). Some residents resisted and resented the Italian influx, which largely spoke Italian and remained insulated. After threats and arson of barns and the school, Bandini confronted a group to stop the terrorization of the nascent Tontitown community.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Tontitown, 1898 to 1992

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1898
    FoundingTontitown is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900Post officeThe Tontitown post office opens
  5. 1913Post officeThe Steele post office opens
  6. 1914Post officeThe Steele post office closes
  7. 1970On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1991Born hereJill Duggar is born here
  9. 1992Born hereJessa Duggar is born here
By decade

Tontitown, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Tontitown City Hall2024Tontitown City HallTontitown City Hall (cropped)2024Tontitown City Hall (cropped)Tontitown School Building2015Tontitown School BuildingEco Vista Landfill2012Eco Vista LandfillARMap-doton-Tontitown2005ARMap-doton-Tontitown
On the map

Tontitown on the map, 1970 to 1994

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

Tontitown on the 1970 USGS mapTontitown on the 1982 USGS mapTontitown on the 1994 USGS map1970Springdale 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 Tontitown.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Tontitown

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1992
Tontitown School Building
Tontitown School Building
Buildings
Tontitown School BuildingBuilding

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

People over time

Tontitown, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5001920194019601980200020204,301

Grew from 222 people in 1910 to 4,301 in 2020, more than tenfold.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Tontitown

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

See all →
Jessa DuggarAmerican reality television participant · b. 1992
Jill DuggarAmerican reality television participant · b. 1991
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Tontitown’s post office has been open since 1900. Another post office, Steele, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Tontitown
1900–today
Steele
1913–1914
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Steele
1cemetery inside Tontitown
Saint Joseph

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Springdale13 historic placesB−Elm Springs1 historic placeC+

Questions about Tontitown’s history

What year was Tontitown founded?

In 1898, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Tontitown’s post office opened in 1900, and the census of 1910 counted 222 people here.

How does Tontitown rank for history?

Tontitown is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #88 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 Tontitown?

One place: the Tontitown School Building (listed 1992).

How old are the homes in Tontitown?

1% of Tontitown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 points), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 2005.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.