The DeLisle post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, De Lisle (1884), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,275142 years
How historic is DeLisle?
D
More historic than 10% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first DeLisle post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives DeLisle’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, DeLisle is more historic than 10% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of DeLisle’s 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 DeLisle’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (19% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±2.3 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 DeLisle’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville was chosen by Louis Phélypeaux, comte de Pontchartrain, Louis XIV's minister of Marine, to establish a French colony in the area. On d'Iberville's second trip to the Gulf in 1699-1700, d'Iberville was accompanied by the accomplished royal cartographer, Compte Guillaume Delisle. During this expedition, they charted and named Bayou Portage, Bayou Arcadia, and Bayou Delisle.
Another post office, De Lisle, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
De Lisle
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about DeLisle’s history
What year was DeLisle founded?
The DeLisle post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does DeLisle rank for history?
DeLisle is more historic than 10% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in DeLisle?
0.0% of DeLisle’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.3 points), against a typical 4.5% for a Mississippi town; the median home was built in 2003.
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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
