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History · Chunky

Chunky’s post office opened in 1903, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Chunky was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Its Register listing is the Chunky River Bridge. Below: maps from 1957 on and the census since 1910.

1903first post office
1on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Chunky began

When was Chunky founded?

1903

The Chunky post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Chunkeys Station (1868), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 280 in 19102020 census: 272123 years
Founding year: the first Chunky post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Chunky’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 Chunky are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Chunky’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Chunky’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
The story

How Chunky came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Chunky.

Read it all →

The town has roots as a Choctaw village named Chanki Chitto, which was named after the Choctaw game Tchungkee, a stickball game played with spears and polished stones. In 1811, the native American leader Tecumseh visited the village as he was building a confederacy of native American tribes. In 1848, the town of Chunkyville was established on the location. In 1861, upon news that a railway was to be built in the vicinity, Chunkyville was moved to its present location and was incorporated that year.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Chunky, 1868 to 1957

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1868Post officeThe Chunkeys Station post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1903Post officeThe Chunkeys Station post office closes
  5. 1903Post officeThe Chunky post office opens
  6. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Chunky, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Chunky, Mississippi Post Office2024Chunky, Mississippi Post Office2024 Chunky, MS EF1 prelim path20242024 Chunky, MS EF1 prelim pathMS889 South End - US80 East West Signs2018MS889 South End - US80 East West SignsMS889 South - Chunky Corp Limit Sign2018MS889 South - Chunky Corp Limit SignI-20 East - Exit 1212018I-20 East - Exit 121Chunky MS Post Office2018Chunky MS Post OfficeWestern-Most Chunky Creek Train Bridge2015Western-Most Chunky Creek Train BridgeOld International Loadstar2014Old International LoadstarBovine Dodge2014Bovine DodgeCanoe32008Canoe3MSMap-doton-Chunky2007MSMap-doton-ChunkyChunky Control Point2006Chunky Control Point
On the map

Chunky on the map, 1957 to 1983

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

Chunky on the 1957 USGS mapChunky on the 1983 USGS map1957Chunky 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 Chunky.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Chunky

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
2004
Chunky River Bridge
Chunky River Bridge
Structures
Chunky River BridgeStructure

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

People over time

Chunky, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 344

Between 224 and 344 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Chunky

Nobody well known was born in Chunky itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Hayley WilliamsAmerican singer · b. 1988
Sela WardAmerican actress, author, and producer · b. 1956
Antonio McDyessAmerican basketball player · b. 1974
Jimmie RodgersAmerican country singer · b. 1897
Medgar EversAfrican-American civil rights activist · b. 1925
Otis RushAmerican musician · b. 1935
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Chunky’s post office has been open since 1903. Another post office, Chunkeys Station, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Chunkeys Station
1868–1903
Chunky
1903–today
18601940today

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

Questions about Chunky’s history

What year was Chunky founded?

The Chunky post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Chunky?

One place: the Chunky River Bridge (listed 2004).

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