Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Benoit

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Benoit

Benoit’s post office opened in 1889, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Hollywood. Below: 17 old photos and papers, maps from 1915 on, and the census since 1910.

1889first post office
1on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
17old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Benoit’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Benoit began

When was Benoit founded?

1889

The Benoit post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 412 in 19102020 census: 365137 years
Founding year: the first Benoit post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Benoit’s past

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

A town in old photos17 old photos, postcards and papers.Boom and bustPeaked at 641 in 1990; 365 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Benoit’s homes were built before 1958.
★ What stands out · By decade

Benoit, decade by decade

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

1930s17 items
Burris House, Benoit (Bolivar County, Mississippi)1936Burris House, Benoit (Bolivar County, Mississippi)Picking cotton, Nugent Plantation1939Picking cotton, Nugent PlantationUntitled photo, possibly related to: Picking cotton, Nugent Plantation1939Untitled photo, possibly related to: Picking cotton, …Untitled photo, possibly related to: Picking cotton, Nugent Plantation1939Untitled photo, possibly related to: Picking cotton, …Untitled photo, possibly related to: Picking cotton, Nugent Plantation1939Untitled photo, possibly related to: Picking cotton, …Weighing and picking operations on Nugent cotton plantation1939Weighing and picking operations on Nugent cotton plan…Weighing and picking operations on Nugent cotton plantation1939Weighing and picking operations on Nugent cotton plan…Weighing and picking operations on Nugent cotton plantation1939Weighing and picking operations on Nugent cotton plan…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Weighing and picking operations on Nugent cotton plantation1939Untitled photo, possibly related to: Weighing and pic…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Weighing and picking operations on Nugent cotton plantation1939Untitled photo, possibly related to: Weighing and pic…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Weighing and picking operations on Nugent cotton plantation1939Untitled photo, possibly related to: Weighing and pic…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Weighing and picking operations on Nugent cotton plantation1939Untitled photo, possibly related to: Weighing and pic…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Weighing and picking operations on Nugent cotton plantation1939Untitled photo, possibly related to: Weighing and pic…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Weighing and picking operations on Nugent cotton plantation1939Untitled photo, possibly related to: Weighing and pic…"Riders" bring in the sacks of cotton on mule's back from the field to the wagon where it is unloaded and weighed. This…1939"Riders" bring in the sacks of cotton on mule's back …"Riders" bring in the sacks of cotton on mule's back from the field to the wagon where it is unloaded and weighed. This…1939"Riders" bring in the sacks of cotton on mule's back …Untitled photo, possibly related to: "Riders" bring in the sacks of cotton on mule's back from the field to the wagon w…1939Untitled photo, possibly related to: "Riders" bring i…
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
People over time

Benoit, census by census

0100200300400500600700192019401960198020002020Peak: 641

Peaked at 641 in 1990; 365 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Benoit came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Benoit.

Read it all →

The 1956 movie Baby Doll was shot on location at the Burrus House in Benoit; many local residents played in minor roles.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Benoit, 1859 to 1990

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1859BuiltHollywood is built
  3. 1889Post officeThe Benoit post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1913Born hereArchie Moore is born here
  6. 1923Born hereEddie Taylor is born here
  7. 1932Born hereRobert Powell is born here
  8. 1936In the archiveBurris House, Benoit (Bolivar County, Mississippi)
  9. 1939On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1986Born hereLavarus Giles is born here
  11. 1990CensusPopulation peaks at 641
On the map

Benoit on the map, 1939 to 1972

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

Benoit on the 1939 USGS mapBenoit on the 1972 USGS map1939Lamont 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 Benoit.

Every building

Benoit, building by building, 1915

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.

Benoit fire insurance map, 1915, sheet 11915Sheet 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.

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.

Burris House, Benoit (Bolivar County, Mississippi)
Retake this viewBurris House, Benoit (Bolivar County, Mississippi), 1936

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Benoit

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
1975
Hollywood
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
HollywoodGreek Revival · Built 1859

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Benoit

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

See all →
Archie MooreAmerican boxer · b. 1913
Eddie TaylorAmerican electric blues guitarist and singer · b. 1923
Robert PowellAmerican composer, organist and choir director · b. 1932
L
Lavarus GilesPlayer of American and Canadian football · b. 1986
Help out

Finish Benoit’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 viewBurris House, Benoit (Bolivar County, M…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Benoit’s history

What year was Benoit founded?

The Benoit post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Benoit?

One place: the Hollywood (listed 1975).

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 Library of Congress (16), 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), 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.