The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Arbela was originally named "North Perryville", and under the latter name was platted in 1858. With the coming of the Keokuk & Western Railroad some years later, the town was resurveyed and the present name chosen. It was named for the Battle for Arbela in which Alexander the Great defeated the Persian Army.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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Start Arbela’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Arbela’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Arbela
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By decade
Arbela, decade by decade
Before
2000
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 albumNational Register of Historic Places
Nothing in Arbela is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Arbela has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Downing House in Memphis, 8.2 miles away.
Arbela and the nearest listed places
Dashed line = Arbela. Tap a dot.
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. Downing House’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Arbela?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Arbela’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old placeNational 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.