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History · Independence

Independence’s post office opened in 1867

Most of Independence was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1944 on.

1867first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Independence began

When was Independence founded?

1867

The Independence post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 200159 years
Founding year: the first Independence post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Independence’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 Independence are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start Independence’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Independence’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Independence came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Independence.

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The settlement was first known as "Flewellenes Crossroads" and "Buck Snorts".

During the Civil War, R.W. Locke organized a company of soldiers in Buck Snorts, which was dispatched to Virginia where they became Company D of the 42d Mississippi Infantry Regiment. Locke was elected company captain.

By 1907, Independence had a post office, several stores/businesses, two churches, and a public school.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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.

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On the map

Independence on the map, 1944 to 1982

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

Independence on the 1944 USGS mapIndependence on the 1982 USGS map1944Senatobia 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 Independence.

Questions about Independence’s history

What year was Independence founded?

The Independence post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.