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History · Hickory

Hickory’s post office opened in 1860, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1966 on and the census since 1870.

1860first post office
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Dofftoubab · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Hickory began

When was Hickory founded?

1860

The Hickory post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 155 in 18702020 census: 408166 years
Founding year: the first Hickory post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Hickory’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 Hickory are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 736 in 1930; 408 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hickory’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hickory’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

Hickory, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 736

Peaked at 736 in 1930; 408 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

The story so far

Hickory, in brief

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

Hickory is a town in Newton County, Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, Hickory had a population of 408. The town is named after Andrew Jackson, who was nicknamed "Old Hickory."

Its first post office opened in 1860. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 530 to 408 (-23%).

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Hickory in 1894

Passages that mention Hickory, cut from the printed page as they were published.

The town of Hickory was settled in 1860. The land was owned by A. E. Gray and wife, who sold out the lots, and donated the necessary right-of-way for railroad purposes.
History of Newton County, Mississippi1894Read the page →
Read the text

The town of Hickory was settled in 1860. The land was owned by A. E. Gray and wife, who sold out the lots, and donated the necessary right-of-way for railroad purposes.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The town of Newton claims the right to have the court-house. The town of Decatur claims the right to have the court-house remain, and the town of Hickory claims the right to have the court-house go there. Decatur is about three and one-half miles from the center of the county ; Newton about six and…
History of Newton County, Mississippi1894Read the page →
Read the text

The town of Newton claims the right to have the court-house. The town of Decatur claims the right to have the court-house remain, and the town of Hickory claims the right to have the court-house go there. Decatur is about three and one-half miles from the center of the county ; Newton about six and one-half, and Hickory a little greater distance probably than Newton. The excitement ran high and quite a feeling

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

Hickory, 1860 to 1997

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1860Post officeThe Hickory post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 736
  5. 1935Born hereJoe Gibbon is born here
  6. 1946Born hereRobert L. Johnson is born here
  7. 1966On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1991Born hereMike Granger is born here
  9. 1997Born hereJake Austin Walker is born here
By decade

Hickory, decade by decade

Today7 recent
Sergeant Matthew L. Ingram post office plaque2025Sergeant Matthew L. Ingram post office plaqueHouse Fire in2025House Fire inHickory Post Office Interior2025Hickory Post Office Interior2024 Hickory, MS EF0 prelim path20242024 Hickory, MS EF0 prelim pathHickory Welcome Sign2023Hickory Welcome SignHickory Post Office2023Hickory Post OfficeDowntown2023Downtown
On the map

Hickory on the map, 1966 to 1984

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

Hickory on the 1966 USGS mapHickory on the 1984 USGS map1966Hickory 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 Hickory.

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Hickory

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

See all →
Robert L. JohnsonAmerican businessman · b. 1946
Jake Austin WalkerAmerican actor and singer · b. 1997
M
Mike GrangerAmerican sprinter · b. 1991
J
Joe GibbonAmerican baseball player · b. 1935
C
Charlie ArmstrongAmerican football player · b. 1919
D. Michael Hurst Jr.American attorney
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Hickory’s post office has been open since 1860.

Gone or out of use
Hickory Attendance Centerschool

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

Questions about Hickory’s history

What year was Hickory founded?

The Hickory post office opened in 1860, 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 Wikimedia Commons (7), 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.