The story
Read it all →How Batesville came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Batesville.
Batesville was founded in the 1850s following the construction of the Mississippi and Tennessee Railroad.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
BHistory
History · Batesville
Batesville’s post office opened in 1857, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns · #42 of 100 in Mississippi. What drives it
Most of Batesville was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 201 buildings. Below: maps from 1925 on and the census since 1870.
1857first post office
2on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
18famous people
Quick answers
How Batesville began
When was Batesville founded?
1857
The Batesville post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Panola (1837), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 227 in 18702020 census: 7,523169 years
How historic is Batesville?
B
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 60% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Batesville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Batesville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Batesville is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #42 of 100 in Mississippi. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Batesville’s overall grade.
Founding era1857, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19408.8% of homes (±5.2) · typical MS town 4.5% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register2 listings, 202 historic buildings, 273 per 10,000 residents · typical MS town 71.9 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 60%
NewerOlder
Mississippi towns of 2,500+ (100)Ahead of 59%
Mississippi towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Mississippi town has 71.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Batesville’s 273 sits above most of its state (82% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 202 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% 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 (±5.2 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 Batesville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A historic districtThe Batesville Historic District takes in 201 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Batesville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Famous sons and daughtersDarrell Henderson, Lewis Edward Anderson and 16 more were born here.
★ What stands out · On the National Register
2 listings protect 202 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
202
each building in a district counts
first listed
1984
Lee House
BuildingsDistricts
Architectural styles listings
L-Shaped1
Greek Revival1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
Art Deco1
Queen Anne1
Georgian1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Help out
Start Batesville’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Batesville’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Famous people
See all →18 famous people were born in Batesville
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
L
Lewis Edward AndersonAmerican botanist and bryologist · b. 1912
D
Dwayne RuddAmerican football player · b. 1976L
Lee WoodruffAmerican football player · b. 1909Timeline
Batesville, 1837 to 1997
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1837Post officeThe Panola post office opens
- 1857Post officeThe Batesville post office opens
- 1874Post officeThe Panola post office closes
- 1880
BuiltLee House is built - 20th century
- 1912Born hereLewis Edward Anderson is born here
- 1952
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1975Born hereDeshea Townsend is born here
- 1985Born hereJamarca Sanford is born here
- 1997Born hereDarrell Henderson is born here
By decade
Batesville, decade by decade
Today14 recent
2012Batesville MS 013
2012Batesville MS 011
2012Batesville MS 010
2012Batesville MS 009
2012Batesville MS 008
2012Batesville MS 007
2012Batesville MS 006
2012Batesville MS 005
2012Batesville MS 004
2012Batesville MS 003
2012Batesville MS 002
2012Batesville MS 001
2009Batesville Rail Siding
2007MSMap-doton-BatesvilleOn the map
Batesville on the map, 1952 to 1982
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Batesville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1952Sardis sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Batesville.
Every building
Batesville, building by building, 1925
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.
1925Sheet 1 of 3BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
People over time
Batesville, census by census
Grew from 227 people in 1870 to 7,523 in 2020, more than tenfold.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Batesville’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices and burying grounds
Batesville’s post office has been open since 1857. Another post office, Panola, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Panola
Batesville
18301930today
1cemetery inside Batesville
Magnolia
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Batesville’s history
What year was Batesville founded?
The Batesville post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Batesville rank for history?
Batesville is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #42 of 100 in Mississippi. 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.
What is on the National Register in Batesville?
Two places: the Lee House (listed 1984) and the Batesville Historic District (2003).
How old are the homes in Batesville?
9% of Batesville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 4.5% for a Mississippi town; the median home was built in 1984.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (14), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (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), 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.