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History · Chidester

Chidester’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Chidester. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
2recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Chidester ( CHIH-di-stir) is a city in northwest Ouachita County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 253 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Camden Micropolitan Statistical Area. It was founded in 1880 and incorporated on February 14, 1906.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 287 to 253 (-12%). Half of its homes were built before 1980.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Chidester yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Chidester’s collection

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people from ChidesterWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Chidester.Meet them →
By decade

Chidester, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
Today2 photos
Chidester Stagecoach Days 2008CommonsChidester Stagecoach Days 20082008ARMap-doton-ChidesterCommonsARMap-doton-Chidester2005
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Chidester is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Chidester has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Poison Spring State Park in Chidester, 3.9 miles away.

Chidester and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Chidester. Tap a dot.
Poison Spring State ParkHarvey's Grocery and Texaco StationRichmond-Tufts HouseCamden to Washington Road-Rosston SegmentBragg HouseCarolina Methodist Church

Closest to Chidester

Poison Spring State ParkChidester · Built 19613.9miHarvey's Grocery and Texaco StationCamden · Building9.1miRichmond-Tufts HouseCamden · Building9.3miCamden to Washington Road-Rosston SegmentCale · Structure10.3miBragg HouseCamden · Building11mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Poison Spring State Park’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Chidester?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Chidester’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Bluff City📜 Whelen Springs📜 Cale📜 Camden

From Wikimedia Commons (2). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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