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History · Little Rock

Little Rock’s post office opened in 1885, and 42% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1972 on and the census since 1900.

1885first post office
0on the National Register
42%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Little Rock began

When was Little Rock founded?

1885

The Little Rock post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 399 in 19002020 census: 439141 years
Founding year: the first Little Rock post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Little Rock’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 Little Rock are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 633 in 1940; 439 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Little Rock’s homes were built before 1946.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Little Rock’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Little Rock’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
People over time

Little Rock, census by census

01002003004005006007001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 633

Peaked at 633 in 1940; 439 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story so far

Little Rock, in brief

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

Little Rock is an incorporated city in Lyon County, Iowa, United States, along the Little Rock River. The population was 439 at the time of the 2020 census. The zip code for Little Rock is 51243.

Its first post office opened in 1885. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 459 to 439 (-4%).

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

Timeline

Little Rock, 1873 to 1991

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Born hereCarleton Roy Ball is born here
  3. 1885Post officeThe Little Rock post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 633
  6. 1972On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1991Born hereTyler Starr is born here
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Little Rock on the map, 1972 to 1985

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

Little Rock on the 1972 USGS mapLittle Rock on the 1985 USGS map1972Little Rock 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 Little Rock.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Little Rock

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

See all →
C
Carleton Roy BallAmerican botanist · b. 1873
Tyler StarrAmerican football player · b. 1991
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Little Rock’s post office has been open since 1885.

Gone or out of use
Little Rocklocale
1cemetery inside Little Rock
Pleasant View

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

Questions about Little Rock’s history

What year was Little Rock founded?

The Little Rock post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 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.