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History · Heidelberg

Heidelberg’s post office opened in 1883

Most of Heidelberg was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1963 on and the census since 1890.

1883first post office
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Dofftoubab · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Heidelberg began

When was Heidelberg founded?

1883

The Heidelberg post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 216 in 18902020 census: 637143 years
Founding year: the first Heidelberg post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Heidelberg’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 Heidelberg are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,112 in 1970; 637 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Heidelberg’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Heidelberg’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
People over time

Heidelberg, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,112

Peaked at 1,112 in 1970; 637 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story so far

Heidelberg, in brief

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

Heidelberg (locally /ˈhaɪ.dɫ̩.bɚɡ/) is a town in Jasper County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2020 census, Heidelberg had a population of 637.

Its first post office opened in 1883. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 718 to 637 (-11%).

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

Timeline

Heidelberg, 1883 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883Post officeThe Heidelberg post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1904Born hereE. Wilson Lyon is born here
  5. 1962Born hereFreddie Parker is born here
  6. 1963On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 1,112
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Heidelberg on the map, 1963 to 1982

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

Heidelberg on the 1963 USGS mapHeidelberg on the 1982 USGS map1963Heidelberg 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 Heidelberg.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Heidelberg

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

See all →
E
E. Wilson LyonAmerican diplomatic historian · b. 1904
F
Freddie ParkerAmerican football player · b. 1962
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Heidelberg’s post office has been open since 1883.

Gone or out of use
East Heidelberg Oil FieldoilfieldUpper Tuscaloosa Oil Pooloilfield
1cemetery inside Heidelberg
Heidelberg

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

Questions about Heidelberg’s history

What year was Heidelberg founded?

The Heidelberg post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 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.