West Memphis’ post office opened in 1893, and 8 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 34% of U.S. towns · #73 of 123 in Arkansas. What drives it
Most of West Memphis was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. 8 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 22 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1916 on, and the census since 1930.
From West Memphis’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How West Memphis began
When was West Memphis founded?
1893
The West Memphis post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name. Five smaller post offices, Hulbert (1838), Mound City (1852) and Blanton (1895), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 895 in 19302020 census: 24,520133 years
How historic is West Memphis?
C
More historic than 34% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first West Memphis post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives West Memphis’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, West Memphis is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #73 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 West Memphis’ 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 West Memphis’ 13.8 sits near the middle of its state (48% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 33 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% 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 (±0.9 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 West Memphis’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Explorers from both Spain and France visited the area near West Memphis. Among those explorers were Hernando de Soto and his men from Spain and Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet from France. By the time French hunters and explorers entered the region, the Mississippian towns and other settlements had been abandoned. The original site of West Memphis came from Spanish land grants issued during the 1790s. Grants were given to Benjamin Fooy, John Henry Fooy, and Isaac Fooy in the Hopefield (Crittenden County) area and to William McKenney in the Bridgeport-West Memphis area.
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.
The West Memphis post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does West Memphis rank for history?
West Memphis is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #73 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 West Memphis?
8 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Dabbs Store (listed 1982, the first), 1 historic district, the West Memphis Commercial Historic District, with 22 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 33 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in West Memphis?
2% of West Memphis’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 1975.
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 (3), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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.
1935
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1935
