Hernando’s post office opened in 1838, and 10 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns · #43 of 100 in Mississippi. What drives it
Most of Hernando was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. 10 places in town are on the National Register, among them five historic districts with 125 buildings between them. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1982 on, and the census since 1870.
The Hernando post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1839. Two smaller post offices, Jefferson (1836) and Nesbits Station (1869), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 730 in 18702020 census: 17,138188 years
How historic is Hernando?
B
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Hernando post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1839.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hernando’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hernando is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #43 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 Hernando’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 Hernando’s 71.9 sits above most of its state (65% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 129 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 C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1839 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Hernando’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
At the time of encounters by French and Spanish colonists, the Chickasaw people had long inhabited this area. France had developed colonial settlements along the Gulf Coast, to the north on the middle Mississippi River in what was called the Illinois Country, and in New France (present-day Quebec in Canada). An 18th-century French colonial log house (see first photo in gallery below) in Hernando is a reminder of typical dwellings built in their settlements in the Illinois country, such as in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. The French and French Canadians had a wide trading network with various American Indian tribes along this river, for instance, in Natchez.
Hernando D. Money was elected in November, 1875, to the 44tli Congress, and was re-elected to the 45th, 46th, 47th and 48th Congresses. The service of Mr. Money extended from December, 1875, to March 3, 1885.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Hernando, 1836 to 1990
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
The Hernando post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1839.
How does Hernando rank for history?
Hernando is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #43 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 Hernando?
10 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Felix Labauve House (listed 1978, the first), 5 historic districts with 125 contributing buildings, 1 site, and 1 structure. 129 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Hernando?
1% of Hernando’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.5% for a Mississippi town; the median home was built in 2002.
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 (10), 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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