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C+History
History · Belzoni

Belzoni was first counted by the census in 1900, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 38% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Humphreys County Courthouse. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1940 on, and the census since 1900.

1900first census
1on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
11old photos & papers
12famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Belzoni’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Belzoni began, and where its name came from

When was Belzoni founded?

1900

Belzoni first appears in the census in 1900. Another post office, Belzona (1879), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 263 in 19002020 census: 1,938126 years

How did Belzoni get its name?

Belzoni was named for the 19th-century Italian archaeologist/explorer Giovanni Battista Belzoni.

More on the name

The area was named Farm-Raised Catfish Capital of the World in 1976 by then Governor Cliff Finch, since it produces more farm-raised catfish than any other U.S. county.

How historic is Belzoni?

C+

More historic than 38% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first census. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Belzoni’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Belzoni is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Belzoni’s overall grade.
Founding era1900, from the first census: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194013.3% of homes (±6.7) · typical MS town 4.5% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register1 listing, 3 historic buildings, 23.0 per 10,000 residents · typical MS town 71.9 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 38%
NewerOlder

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 Belzoni’s 23.0 sits near the middle of its state (58% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% 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 (±6.7 points).

Founding year: the first census (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 Belzoni’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Boom and bustPeaked at 4,142 in 1960; 1,938 people lived here in 2020.Famous sons and daughtersPinetop Perkins, Otis Spann and 10 more were born here.
★ What stands out · People over time

Belzoni, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 4,142

Peaked at 4,142 in 1960; 1,938 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

12 famous people were born in Belzoni

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Pinetop PerkinsAmerican blues pianist · b. 1913
O
Otis SpannAmerican Chicago blues pianist · b. 1930
J
Jean TerrellAmerican musician · b. 1944
E
Eddie "Guitar" BurnsAmerican Detroit blues guitarist, harmonica pla… · b. 1928
Herb WashingtonAmerican baseball player · b. 1950
Ben WilliamsAmerican football player · b. 1970
The story

How Belzoni came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Belzoni.

Read it all →

The area that eventually became Belzoni was originally known as "Greasy Row" because of saloons along the bank of the Yazoo River, which was the main transportation route until replaced by railroads. In 1895, a charter was granted for the village of Belzoni, although the area had been settled by European Americans and African Americans for several decades previously. It was developed for cotton plantations before the Civil War and relied on agriculture well into the 20th century. Steve Castleman, who secured the charter, was elected as the first mayor of Belzoni. When Humphreys County was formed by the state legislature in 1918, Belzoni was selected as the county seat.

ChaptersCivil rights movementRecent historyHistorical markers and attractions

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Belzoni, 1879 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879Post officeThe Belzona post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1910Post officeThe Belzona post office closes
  5. 1910Post officeThe Belzoni post office opens
  6. 1913Born herePinetop Perkins is born here
  7. 1928Born hereEddie "Guitar" Burns is born here
  8. 1930Born hereOtis Spann is born here
  9. 1939In the archiveAfrican Americans fishing in creek near cotton plantations. Belzoni, Mississippi, October…
  10. 1940On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1944Born hereJean Terrell is born here
  12. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 4,142
By decade

Belzoni, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s11 items
African Americans fishing in creek near cotton plantations. Belzoni, Mississippi, October 19391939African Americans fishing in creek near cotton planta…Belzoni MS fsa.8a411791939Belzoni MS fsa.8a41179Belzoni MS fsa.8a411861939Belzoni MS fsa.8a41186Daughter of Cube Walker, Negro TP Client Belzoni, Miss. Delt1939Daughter of Cube Walker, Negro TP Client Belzoni, Mis…Negro section of town, Saturday afternoon, Belzoni, Mississi1939Negro section of town, Saturday afternoon, Belzoni, M…Negro section of town, Saturday noon Belzoni, Miss., Nov. 191939Negro section of town, Saturday noon Belzoni, Miss., …Negroes fishing in creek 1a34331v1939Negroes fishing in creek 1a34331vNegroes fishing in creek 1a34332v1939Negroes fishing in creek 1a34332vNegroes fishing in creek near cotton plantations outside Belzoni, Miss. Delta1939Negroes fishing in creek near cotton plantations outs…Negroes fishing in creek near cotton plantations outside Belzoni, Miss1939Negroes fishing in creek near cotton plantations outs…New home of Cube Walker, Negro tenant purchase client. Belzoni, Mississippi Delta, Mississippi1939New home of Cube Walker, Negro tenant purchase client…
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today1 recent
MSMap-doton-Belzoni2007MSMap-doton-Belzoni
On the map

Belzoni on the map, 1940 to 1994

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

Belzoni on the 1940 USGS mapBelzoni on the 1982 USGS mapBelzoni on the 1994 USGS map1940Mileston 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 Belzoni.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

African Americans fishing in creek near cotton plantations. Belzoni, Mississippi, October 1939
Retake this viewAfrican Americans fishing in creek near cotton plantations. Belzoni, Mississippi, October 1939, 1939

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Belzoni’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Belzoni

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
2014
Humphreys County Courthouse
Humphreys County Courthouse
Buildings
All 1 listings
Humphreys County CourthouseBuilding · listed 2014

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Belzoni’s post office has been open since 1910. Another post office, Belzona, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Belzona
1879–1910
Belzoni
1910–today
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Belzoni Landinglocale

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Belzoni’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAfrican Americans fishing in creek near…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Belzoni’s history

What year was Belzoni founded?

The Belzoni post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Belzoni rank for history?

Belzoni is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns. 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 Belzoni?

One place: the Humphreys County Courthouse (listed 2014).

How old are the homes in Belzoni?

13% of Belzoni’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.7 points), against a typical 4.5% for a Mississippi town; the median home was built in 1965.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.