Most of Caledonia was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: maps from 1960 on and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Caledonia post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Caledonia’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Caledonia is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Caledonia’s overall grade.
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 Caledonia’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (19% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% 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 (±3.4 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 Caledonia’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Caledonia was first settled in the 1820s by settlers from Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, and South Carolina. It was likely named after Caledonia, as many of the settlers were Scots-Irish. A post office first opened in Caledonia in December 1836 and operated under the name Ridgeway. By 1840, the community was home to a bank and hat factory. In 1900, the population of Caledonia was 201.
The Caledonia post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Caledonia rank for history?
Caledonia is more historic than 37% 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.
How old are the homes in Caledonia?
5% of Caledonia’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.4 points), against a typical 4.5% for a Mississippi town; the median home was built in 1986.
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 Wikipedia, 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.
