Grenada’s post office opened in 1836, and 14 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 71% of U.S. towns · #27 of 100 in Mississippi. What drives it
Most of Grenada was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. 14 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 120 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1870.
The Grenada post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Pittsburgh (1833), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,887 in 18702020 census: 12,700190 years
How historic is Grenada?
B+
More historic than 71% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Grenada post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Grenada’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Grenada is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #27 of 100 in Mississippi. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Grenada’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 Grenada’s 109 sits above most of its state (69% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 135 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% 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 (±2.3 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 Grenada’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Grenada was formed in 1836, after federal removal of the Choctaw people who had previously occupied this territory. It was the result of the union of the two adjacent towns (separated by the present-day Line Street) of Pittsburg and Tulahoma (or Tullahoma), founded, respectively, by Franklin Plummer and Hiram Runnels.
Development included stores and businesses that supported the county court and market days.
Plantations were first developed along the Yalobusha River for transportation and access to water. Cotton was the major commodity crop, dependent on the labor of African slaves.
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 Grenada. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1954Grenada 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 Grenada.
Every building
Grenada, building by building, 1886–1913
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 Grenada post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Grenada rank for history?
Grenada is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #27 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 Grenada?
14 listings: 8 buildings, 3 historic districts, the Margin St. Historic District, the Grenada Downtown Historic District and the South Main Historic District, with 120 contributing buildings, 2 sites, and 1 structure. 135 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Grenada?
5% of Grenada’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 1976.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (14), 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.
1862
c. 1868
1950
