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History · Des Arc

Des Arc’s post office opened in 1871, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1926 on and the census since 1880.

1871first post office
0on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Des Arc began

When was Des Arc founded?

1871

The Des Arc post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 94 in 18802020 census: 131155 years
Founding year: the first Des Arc post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Des Arc’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 Des Arc are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 413 in 1890; 131 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Des Arc’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Des Arc’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Des Arc’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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People over time

Des Arc, census by census

010020030040018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 413

Peaked at 413 in 1890; 131 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Des Arc came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Des Arc.

Read it all →

Des Arc was laid out in 1871. According to folk etymology, Des Arc, meaning "the bend", was so named from a big bend in the railroad at the town site. However, the State Historical Society of Missouri believes the name may be a corruption of aux arcs, the origin of the name Ozarks. A post office called Des Arc has been in operation since 1871.

Des Arc was significantly affected by tornadoes on two separate occasions in 2025. On March 14, an EF3 tornado affected the downtown area. On May 16, an EF2 tornado affected much of the same area.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Des Arc, 1871 to 1926

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Des Arc post office opens
  3. 1890CensusPopulation peaks at 413
  4. 20th century
  5. 1926On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Des Arc, decade by decade

Today1 recent
MOMap-doton-Des Arc2004MOMap-doton-Des Arc
On the map

Des Arc on the map, 1926 to 1969

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

Des Arc on the 1926 USGS mapDes Arc on the 1969 USGS map1926Des Arc 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 Des Arc.

Questions about Des Arc’s history

What year was Des Arc founded?

The Des Arc post office opened in 1871, 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, 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.