Hazlehurst’s post office opened in 1858, and 7 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 63% of U.S. towns · #37 of 100 in Mississippi. What drives it
Most of Hazlehurst was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. 7 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 268 buildings between them. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: the first Hazlehurst post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hazlehurst’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hazlehurst is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #37 of 100 in Mississippi. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hazlehurst’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 Hazlehurst’s 790 sits above most of its state (94% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 278 historic buildings outnumber those of 95% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 points). 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 Hazlehurst’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first settlement here by European Americans became known as the town of Gallatin; two lawyers and brothers-in-law named Walters and Saunders came from Gallatin, Tennessee, in 1819 and named the village after their hometown. They built their homes on the banks of the Bayou Pierre, in the western part of Copiah County. Other settlers came with them, and in 1829 the state legislature incorporated the town. The incorporation charter of Gallatin was repealed on January 18, 1862.
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 Hazlehurst. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1963Hazlehurst 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 Hazlehurst.
Every building
Hazlehurst, 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.
1886Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewPutting on the 9th green at golf course, 1900
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Hazlehurst’s page.
The Hazlehurst post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Hazlehurst rank for history?
Hazlehurst is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #37 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 Hazlehurst?
7 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Cook House (listed 1983, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Hazlehurst Historic District and the Marchetti Farm, with 268 contributing buildings. 278 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Hazlehurst?
8% of Hazlehurst’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 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 (9), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (7), 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.
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