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History · De Kalb

De Kalb’s post office opened in 1834, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of De Kalb was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Its Register listing is the Kemper County Hospital, (Old). Below: maps from 1963 on and the census since 1920.

1834first post office
1on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How De Kalb began

When was De Kalb founded?

1834

The De Kalb post office opened in 1834, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 554 in 19202020 census: 877192 years
Founding year: the first De Kalb post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about De Kalb’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 De Kalb are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsA post office since 1834: 192 years of De Kalb.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start De Kalb’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how De Kalb’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
Timeline

De Kalb, 1834 to 1963

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1834Post officeThe De Kalb post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1903Born hereLyscum Elbert Crowson is born here
  5. 1935Born hereJohn Hampton Stennis is born here
  6. 1949Born hereLouis Westerfield is born here
  7. 1961Born hereBud Brown is born here
  8. 1963On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story so far

De Kalb, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of De Kalb yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

De Kalb is a town in and the county seat of Kemper County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2020 census, De Kalb had a population of 877. De Kalb is named after General Johann de Kalb, a Franconian-French military officer who served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.

Its first post office opened in 1834. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,164 to 877 (-25%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

De Kalb, decade by decade

Today1 recent
MSMap-doton-DeKalb2007MSMap-doton-DeKalb
On the map

De Kalb on the map, 1963 to 1982

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

De Kalb on the 1963 USGS mapDe Kalb on the 1982 USGS map1963De Kalb sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of De Kalb.

On the National Register

1 historic place in De Kalb

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2026
Kemper County Hospital, (Old)
Kemper County Hospital, (Old)
Buildings
All 1 listings
Kemper County Hospital, (Old)Building · listed 2026

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

People over time

De Kalb, census by census

02004006008001,0001,200192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,164

Between 554 and 1,164 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in De Kalb

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

See all →
B
Bud BrownFormer National Football League safety · b. 1961
L
Louis WesterfieldAmerican activist and lawyer · b. 1949
John Hampton StennisAmerican attorney and politician · b. 1935
Lyscum Elbert CrowsonAmerican Methodist preacher · b. 1903
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

De Kalb’s post office has been open since 1834.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Holihtasha
1cemetery inside De Kalb
De Kalb Depot Hill

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

Questions about De Kalb’s history

What year was De Kalb founded?

The De Kalb post office opened in 1834, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in De Kalb?

One place: the Kemper County Hospital, (Old) (listed 2026).

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