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History · Artesia

Artesia’s post office opened in 1860, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1959 on and the census since 1880.

1860first post office
0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Artesia began

When was Artesia founded?

1860

The Artesia post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 150 in 18802020 census: 304166 years
Founding year: the first Artesia post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Artesia’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 Artesia are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 612 in 1930; 304 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Artesia’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Artesia’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

Artesia, census by census

010020030040050060018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 612

Peaked at 612 in 1930; 304 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Artesia came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Artesia.

Read it all →

Artesia was originally Artesia Junction, a junction point on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. During the railroad's construction in the 1850s, an offer was made to the towns of Columbus and Aberdeen to route the railroad through the towns, but both towns refused. Columbus reconsidered a few months later; but by that time, the railway had already chosen a route well to the west of the town. However, the railroad did extend a spur line in order to serve Columbus, and that spur line joins the main line at the site of present-day Artesia.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Artesia, 1860 to 1959

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1860Post officeThe Artesia post office opens
  3. 1895Born hereJim Roberts is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 612
  6. 1959On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Artesia, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Cagy-columbus-greenville-gp38-2777-and-sd40-2-3312--artesia-mississippi--2016-12-01--picture-by-birmingham-photographer2016Cagy-columbus-greenville-gp38-2777-and-sd40-2-3312--a…Cagy-columbus-greenville-gp38-2777--artesia-mississippi--2016-12-01--picture-by-birmingham-photographer2016Cagy-columbus-greenville-gp38-2777--artesia-mississip…
On the map

Artesia on the map, 1959 to 1987

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

Artesia on the 1959 USGS mapArtesia on the 1987 USGS map1959Artesia 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 Artesia.

Questions about Artesia’s history

What year was Artesia founded?

The Artesia post office opened in 1860, 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 →
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 (2), 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.