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A−History
History · Clarksdale

Clarksdale dates to 1848, and 8 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 82% of U.S. towns · #10 of 100 in Mississippi. What drives it

Most of Clarksdale was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1964. 8 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 530 buildings. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1890.

1848founded
8on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
45famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Clarksdale’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Clarksdale began

When was Clarksdale founded?

1848

Clarksdale dates its founding to 1848 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 781 in 18902020 census: 14,903178 years

How historic is Clarksdale?

A−

More historic than 82% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1857.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Clarksdale’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clarksdale is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #10 of 100 in Mississippi. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Clarksdale’s overall grade.
Founding era1848, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19409.4% of homes (±2.4) · typical MS town 4.5% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register8 listings, 537 historic buildings, 377 per 10,000 residents · typical MS town 71.9 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 82%
NewerOlder
Mississippi towns of 2,500+ (100)Ahead of 91%

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 Clarksdale’s 377 sits above most of its state (84% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 537 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1848.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Clarksdale’s past

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

A historic districtThe Clarksdale Historic District takes in 530 historic buildings.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Clarksdale, and 5 old place names are still on the map.Mapped building by building8 fire insurance maps, 1892 to 1923, drew every building in Clarksdale.Boom and bustPeaked at 21,673 in 1970; 14,903 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

8 listings protect 537 historic buildings

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

places listed
8
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
537
each building in a district counts
first listed
1994
Alcazar Hotel, New
Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Passenger Depot, built 1979WROX Building, built 1920Alcazar Hotel, NewJohn Clark House, built 1859Bobo Senior High School BuildingWoolworth BuildingClarksdale Historic DistrictMyrtle Hall Branch Library for Negroes
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements2
Colonial Revival2
Modern Movement2
Railroad Vernacular1
Commercial Style1
Classical Revival1
Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Passenger DepotRailroad Vernacular · Built 1979
WROX BuildingLate 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements · Built 1920
All 8 listings
Alcazar Hotel, NewBuilding · listed 1994John Clark HouseBuilding · listed 2003Bobo Senior High School BuildingBuilding · listed 2008Woolworth BuildingBuilding · listed 2009Clarksdale Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2009Myrtle Hall Branch Library for NegroesBuilding · listed 2018

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, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Clarksdale’s post office has been open since 1875. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hopsons
1857–1867
Clarksdale
1875–today
Oliver
1898–1914
Durham
1903–1921
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
DurhamHarrs PlaceHopsonMyrtle HallRiverton
Gone or out of use
Booker T Washington SchoolschoolHoney Hill Plantationlocale
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Clarksdale
Beth IsraelHackberryOakridgePawpaw

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

Every building

Clarksdale, building by building, 1892–1923

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.

Clarksdale fire insurance map, 1892, sheet 11892Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

The story

How Clarksdale came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Clarksdale.

Read it all →

European Americans developed Clarksdale at the intersection of two former Indian routes: the Lower Creek Trade Path, which extended westward from present-day Augusta, Georgia, to New Mexico; and the Chakchiuma Trade Trail, which ran northeastward to the former village at present-day Pontotoc, Mississippi. They later improved these trails for roadways wide enough for wagons.

ChaptersEarly historyCotton plantationsPost-Civil War and Reconstruction20th century21st centuryMusic history

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Clarksdale, 1848 to 1979

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1848
    FoundingClarksdale is established
  3. 1857Post officeThe Hopsons post office opens
  4. 1859BuiltJohn Clark House is built
  5. 1867Post officeThe Hopsons post office closes
  6. 1875Post officeThe Clarksdale post office opens
  7. 1890In the archiveSunflower River Bridge, Clarksdale, Mississippi (1890)
  8. 1898Post officeThe Oliver post office opens
  9. 20th century
  10. 1914Post officeThe Oliver post office closes
  11. 1917Born hereJohn Lee Hooker is born here
  12. 1920BuiltWROX Building is built
  13. 1931Born hereSam Cooke is born here
  14. 1931Born hereIke Turner is born here
  15. 1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  16. 1936In the archivePlantation owner, Mississippi Delta, near Clarksdale, Mississippi, 8b29713
  17. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 21,673
  18. 1976Born hereRick Ross is born here
  19. 1979BuiltYazoo and Mississippi Valley Passenger Depot is built
By decade

Clarksdale, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s1 item
Sunflower River Bridge, Clarksdale, Mississippi (1890)1890Sunflower River Bridge, Clarksdale, Mississippi (1890)
1900s–1920snothing 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
1930s9 items
Plantation owner, Mississippi Delta, near Clarksdale, Mississippi, 8b297131936Plantation owner, Mississippi Delta, near Clarksdale,…Plantation owner, Mississippi Delta, near Clarksdale, Mississippi, 8b297131936Plantation owner, Mississippi Delta, near Clarksdale,…Plantation overseer. Mississippi Delta, near Clarksdale, Mississippi1936Plantation overseer. Mississippi Delta, near Clarksda…Plantation owner. Mississippi Delta, near Clarksdale, Mississippi1936Plantation owner. Mississippi Delta, near Clarksdale,…Cotton chopping on Mississippi Delta land near Clarksdale, Mississippi1936Cotton chopping on Mississippi Delta land near Clarks…Cotton chopping on Mississippi Delta land near Clarksdale, Mississippi1936Cotton chopping on Mississippi Delta land near Clarks…Cotton chopping on Mississippi Delta land near Clarksdale, Mississippi1936Cotton chopping on Mississippi Delta land near Clarks…Cotton chopping on Mississippi Delta land near Clarksdale, Mississippi1936Cotton chopping on Mississippi Delta land near Clarks…Backyard of Negro tenant's home, Marcella Plantation 1a34349v1939Backyard of Negro tenant's home, Marcella Plantation …
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
On the map

Clarksdale on the map, 1935 to 1967

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

Clarksdale on the 1935 USGS mapClarksdale on the 1967 USGS map1935Clarksdale 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 Clarksdale.

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.

Sunflower River Bridge, Clarksdale, Mississippi (1890)
Retake this viewSunflower River Bridge, Clarksdale, Mississippi (1890), 1890

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Clarksdale, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 21,673

Peaked at 21,673 in 1970; 14,903 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Famous people

45 famous people were born in Clarksdale

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

See all →
John Lee HookerAmerican blues musician (1912 or 1917–2001) · b. 1917
Sam CookeAmerican singer and songwriter · b. 1931
Ike TurnerAmerican musician · b. 1931
Rick RossAmerican rapper and record executive · b. 1976
W
Willie BrownGuitar player and vocalist · b. 1900
E
Earl HookerAmerican Chicago blues guitarist · b. 1929
Help out

Finish Clarksdale’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 viewSunflower River Bridge, Clarksdale, Mis…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

LyonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Clarksdale’s history

What year was Clarksdale founded?

In 1848, according to Wikidata. Clarksdale’s post office opened in 1857, and the census of 1890 counted 781 people here.

How does Clarksdale rank for history?

Clarksdale is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #10 of 100 in Mississippi. 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 Clarksdale?

8 listings: 7 buildings, among them the Alcazar Hotel, New (listed 1994, the first), and 1 historic district, the Clarksdale Historic District, with 530 contributing buildings. 537 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Clarksdale?

9% of Clarksdale’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 4.5% for a Mississippi town; the median home was built in 1964.

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 (4), the Library of Congress (6), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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.