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History · Bolton

Bolton’s post office opened in 1886, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1900 on and the census since 1880.

1886first post office
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Ktkvtsh · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Bolton began

When was Bolton founded?

1886

The Bolton post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Boltons Depot (1841), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 440 in 18802020 census: 441140 years
Founding year: the first Bolton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Bolton’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 Bolton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 797 in 1960; 441 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1900 to 1910, drew every building in Bolton.Famous sons and daughtersCalvin Smith, Bennie Thompson and 7 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bolton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bolton’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

Bolton, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 797

Peaked at 797 in 1960; 441 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Every building

Bolton, building by building, 1900–1910

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 year, then a sheet.

Bolton fire insurance map, 1900, sheet 11900Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

The story so far

Bolton, in brief

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

Bolton is a town in Hinds County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bolton had a population of 441. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1886. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 567 to 441 (-22%).

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Bolton in 1922

Passages that mention Bolton, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Bolton is an incorporated post-town in Hinds County. It is a pleasant, small town with many community interests and past historical associations.
History of Hinds County, Mississippi, 1821-19221922Read the page →
Read the text

Bolton is an incorporated post-town in Hinds County. It is a pleasant, small town with many community interests and past historical associations.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Bolton is an incorporated post-town in Hinds County. It is a pleasant, small town with many community interests and past historical associations.
History of Hinds County, Mississippi, 1821-1922. Published in commemoration of the centenary of the city of Jackson ... by Mrs. Dunbar Rowland (Eron O. Rowland)1922Read the page →
Read the text

Bolton is an incorporated post-town in Hinds County. It is a pleasant, small town with many community interests and past historical associations.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Bolton, 1841 to 1961

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1841Post officeThe Boltons Depot post office opens
  3. 1886Post officeThe Boltons Depot post office closes
  4. 1886Post officeThe Bolton post office opens
  5. 1892Born hereBo Carter is born here
  6. 1897Born hereSam Chatmon is born here
  7. 20th century
  8. 1937On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1948Born hereBennie Thompson is born here
  10. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 797
  11. 1961Born hereCalvin Smith is born here
By decade

Bolton, decade by decade

Today10 recent
Bolton, Mississippi Water Tower 022025Bolton, Mississippi Water Tower 02Bolton, Mississippi Water Tower 012025Bolton, Mississippi Water Tower 01Bolton, Mississippi Post Office 062025Bolton, Mississippi Post Office 06Bolton, Mississippi Post Office 052025Bolton, Mississippi Post Office 05Bolton, Mississippi Post Office 042025Bolton, Mississippi Post Office 04Bolton, Mississippi Post Office 032025Bolton, Mississippi Post Office 03Bolton, Mississippi Post Office 022025Bolton, Mississippi Post Office 02Bolton, Mississippi Post Office 012025Bolton, Mississippi Post Office 01Champion Hill plaque2022Champion Hill plaqueMSMap-doton-Bolton2007MSMap-doton-Bolton
On the map

Bolton on the map, 1937 to 1980

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

Bolton on the 1937 USGS mapBolton on the 1942 USGS mapBolton on the 1971 USGS mapBolton on the 1980 USGS map1937Raymond 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 Bolton.

Famous people

9 famous people were born in Bolton

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

See all →
Calvin SmithAmerican sprinter · b. 1961
Bennie ThompsonAmerican politician · b. 1948
B
Bo CarterAmerican early blues musician · b. 1892
Sam ChatmonAmerican blues musician · b. 1897
W
Walter VinsonAmerican Memphis blues guitarist, singer and so… · b. 1901
L
Lucille SpannAmerican singer · b. 1938
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Bolton’s post office has been open since 1886. Another post office, Boltons Depot, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Boltons Depot
1841–1886
Bolton
1886–today
18401930today

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

Questions about Bolton’s history

What year was Bolton founded?

The Bolton post office opened in 1886, 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 (10), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.