The Arp post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Strawberry (1898), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,139 in 19402020 census: 892127 years
How historic is Arp?
C+
More historic than 42% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Arp post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Arp’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Arp is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Arp’s overall grade.
Few Texas towns list much on the Register (a typical Texas town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Arp’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (34% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±9.6 points). 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 Arp’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The settlement was called Bissa, from the Choctaw/Chickasaw word for blackberry, as early as the 1800s. It was later called Jarvis Junction and then Strawberry, after the fruit that was grown in the area. It was finally renamed "Arp" for Bill Arp (pen name of Charles Henry Smith), a Georgia humorist who was nationally known in the late 19th century. Supposedly, the three-letter name was also chosen for its brevity, which allowed local strawberry producers to spend less time hand-marking their crates.
Arp’s post office has been open since 1899. Another post office, Strawberry, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Strawberry
1898–1899
Arp
1899–today
18901960today
1cemetery inside Arp
Mason
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Arp’s history
What year was Arp founded?
The Arp post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Arp rank for history?
Arp is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in Arp?
20% of Arp’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.6 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1970.
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), 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.
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