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History · Water Valley

Water Valley’s post office opened in 1872, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Water Valley was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Its Register listing is the Camp Beauregard Memorial in Water Valley. Below: maps from 1914 on and the census since 1880.

1872first post office
1on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Water Valley began

When was Water Valley founded?

1872

The Water Valley post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 100 in 18802020 census: 235154 years
Founding year: the first Water Valley post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Water Valley’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 Water Valley are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 395 in 1980; 235 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Water Valley’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Water Valley’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

Water Valley, census by census

010020030040018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 395

Peaked at 395 in 1980; 235 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story so far

Water Valley, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Water Valley yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Water Valley is a census-designated place and former home rule-class city in Graves County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 235 as of the 2020 census. It was incorporated on April 19, 1884, and had its charter dissolved via court order effective June 20, 2016.

Its first post office opened in 1872. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 279 to 235 (-16%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Water Valley, 1872 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe Water Valley post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1909BuiltCamp Beauregard Memorial in Water Valley is built
  5. 1913Born hereCarlene Roberts is born here
  6. 1952On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 395
By decade

Water Valley, decade by decade

Today1 recent
KYMap-doton-WaterValley2004KYMap-doton-WaterValley
On the map

Water Valley on the map, 1952 to 1969

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

Water Valley on the 1952 USGS mapWater Valley on the 1969 USGS map1952Water Valley sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Water Valley.

Every building

Water Valley, building by building, 1914

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Water Valley fire insurance map, 1914, sheet 11914Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Water Valley

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1997
Camp Beauregard Memorial in Water Valley
Camp Beauregard Memorial in Water Valley, built 1909
Objects
Camp Beauregard Memorial in Water ValleyBuilt 1909

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Questions about Water Valley’s history

What year was Water Valley founded?

The Water Valley post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Water Valley?

One place: the Camp Beauregard Memorial in Water Valley (listed 1997).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.