Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The Courtland post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Long Creek (1849), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Courtland’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Courtland.
Courtland, Mississippi was incorporated as a town on March 30, 1871. On July 17, 1946, acting Governor Fielding L. Wright issued a proclamation abolishing the town as it had not held a municipal election in over two years. On July 18, the area was reorganized into a village.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereLawrence B. McGill is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyWeddings 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 Courtland. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Courtland.
Between 221 and 511 people in every census since 1880.
14 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Courtland’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Courtland’s post office has been open since 1871. Another post office, Long Creek, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Courtland post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 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) 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.
