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History · Spearsville

Spearsville’s post office opened in 1860

Most of Spearsville was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Below: maps from 1951 on and the census since 1880.

1860first post office
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Spearsville began

When was Spearsville founded?

1860

The Spearsville post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 84 in 18802020 census: 126166 years
Founding year: the first Spearsville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Spearsville’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 Spearsville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 197 in 1970; 126 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Spearsville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Spearsville’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

Spearsville, census by census

010020018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 197

Peaked at 197 in 1970; 126 people lived here in 2020.

7 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Spearsville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Spearsville.

Read it all →

Almost all of Spearsville's early history seems to have been lost as little is known about the origin of the village. It is believed that the lack of governmental records supports the idea that Spearsville began as a trading post. The earliest confirmed record of settlement in the area is from 1875 when the Spearsville Church of Christ was built. An 1895 map of Union Parish claims that a post office was operating since 1848, as well as the fact that the settlement was known as "Spears Store" at one point in time. It is unknown if these two claims are legitimate.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Spearsville, 1860 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1860Post officeThe Spearsville post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1942Born hereCecil Upshaw is born here
  5. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 197
By decade

Spearsville, decade by decade

Today1 recent
LAMap-doton-Spearsville2004LAMap-doton-Spearsville
On the map

Spearsville on the map, 1951 to 1985

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

Spearsville on the 1951 USGS mapSpearsville on the 1968 USGS mapSpearsville on the 1985 USGS map1951Bernice 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 Spearsville.

Questions about Spearsville’s history

What year was Spearsville founded?

The Spearsville post office opened in 1860, 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 →
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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 (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.