Columbus’ post office opened in 1820, and 26 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 78% of U.S. towns · #17 of 100 in Mississippi. What drives it
Most of Columbus was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. 26 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Charles McLaran House, a National Historic Landmark, and three historic districts with 224 buildings between them. Below: 14 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: the first Columbus post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Columbus’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Columbus is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #17 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 Columbus’ 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 Columbus’ 108 sits above most of its state (68% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 253 historic buildings outnumber those of 94% of U.S. towns.
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. 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 Columbus’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
The first record of the site of Columbus in Western history is found in the annals of the explorer Hernando de Soto, who is reputed to have crossed the nearby Tombigbee River on his search for El Dorado. However, the site does not enter the main continuity of United States history until December 1810, when John Pitchlynn, the U.S. Indian agent and interpreter for the Choctaw Nation, moved to Plymouth Bluff, where he built a home, established a farm, and transacted Choctaw Agency business.
Passages that mention Columbus, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A history of Columbus, Mississippi, during the 19th century1909 · page 27Read the page →
Read the text
Another fact connected with this 16th section lease-hold property in the town of Columbus, is that from the time of leasing in 1821 to 1839, it was noir considered subject to taxation of any kind and that from 1821 to 1839, a period of eightteen years, no taxes of any kind were collected, although during that period Lowndes county had been organized and the town of Columbus selected as the county seat. This
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A history of Columbus, Mississippi, during the 19th century1909 · page 22Read the page →
Read the text
Sec. 7. And be it further enacted. That the first meeting of the trustees shall be on the first Monday in June next, in the town of Columbus, at which time and place they or a majority of them shall choose a president by ballot, out of their own body, and in case a majority shall not attend at the first appointed meeting, it shall be in the power of any three members to call a meeting of said trustees by advertisement in the town of Columbus, giving ten days notice of said
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
Columbus, 1820 to 2001
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Columbus. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1960Columbus 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 Columbus.
Every building
Columbus, building by building, 1885–1910
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.
The Columbus post office opened in 1820, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Columbus rank for history?
Columbus is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #17 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 Columbus?
26 listings: 21 buildings, among them the Charles McLaran House (a National Historic Landmark since 2001) and the S. D. Lee House (listed 1971, the first), 3 historic districts, the South Columbus Historic District, the Columbus Central Commercial Historic District and the Factory Hill-Frog Bottom-Burns Bottom Historic District, with 224 contributing buildings, 1 site, and 1 structure. 253 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Columbus?
9% of Columbus’ 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 1974.
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 (17), the Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (7), the National Register of Historic Places (26), 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, 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.
★ Landmark
1890
1891
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1911
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1917
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