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B−History
History · Itta Bena

Itta Bena’s post office opened in 1881, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 53% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Itta Bena was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 146 buildings. Below: maps from 1905 on and the census since 1900.

1881first post office
1on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Chillin662 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Itta Bena began

When was Itta Bena founded?

1881

The Itta Bena post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 416 in 19002020 census: 1,679145 years

How historic is Itta Bena?

B−

More historic than 53% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Itta Bena post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Itta Bena’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Itta Bena is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns. 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 Itta Bena’s overall grade.
Founding era1881, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19403.7% of homes (±3.8) · typical MS town 4.5% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register1 listing, 146 historic buildings, 742 per 10,000 residents · typical MS town 71.9 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 53%
NewerOlder

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 Itta Bena’s 742 sits above most of its state (93% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 146 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 B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.8 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 Itta Bena’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Itta Bena Historic District takes in 146 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Itta Bena are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,904 in 1980; 1,679 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1905 to 1918, drew every building in Itta Bena.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

1 listing protects 146 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
146
each building in a district counts
first listed
2009
Itta Bena Historic District
Itta Bena Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Tudor Revival1
Queen Anne1
Free Classic Queen Anne1
Colonial Revival1
American International1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
All 1 listings
Itta Bena Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2009

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Help out

Start Itta Bena’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Itta Bena’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

Itta Bena, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,904

Peaked at 2,904 in 1980; 1,679 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story

How Itta Bena came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Itta Bena.

Read it all →

The indigenous Choctaw Indians occupied the Delta region for hundreds of years prior to the arrival of European settlers, with ancestors stretching thousands of years into the past. The first removal treaty carried out under the Indian Removal Act was the 1830 Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, by which the Choctaw ceded about 11 million acres of the Choctaw Nation (now Mississippi) to the United States in exchange for about 15 million acres in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma).

ChaptersEarly history20th century to present

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Itta Bena, 1881 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881Post officeThe Itta Bena post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1932Born herePervis Spann is born here
  5. 1937Born hereJimmy Lewis is born here
  6. 1939Born hereLuther Johnson is born here
  7. 1961On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1973Born hereAndre Allen is born here
  9. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 2,904
By decade

Itta Bena, decade by decade

Today13 recent
Itta Bena Water Tower2024Itta Bena Water TowerItta Bena Home In The Woods Sign2022Itta Bena Home In The Woods SignItta Bena Mayor Thelma Collins (lower left) shares ideas with EPA Senior Sustainability Advisor Anne Keller (lower righ…2015Itta Bena Mayor Thelma Collins (lower left) shares id…EPA meets with academics and staff from Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena2015EPA meets with academics and staff from Mississippi V…Community members recommend steps to increase access to local foods in Itta Bena, MS2015Community members recommend steps to increase access …Community members attend a Local Foods, Local Places workshop in Itta Bena, Mississippi2015Community members attend a Local Foods, Local Places …A store owner gives a tour of unoccupied downtown property being considered as the site of a new grocery store2015A store owner gives a tour of unoccupied downtown pro…Roebuck Lake2013Roebuck LakeIttabenahomeinthewoods2013IttabenahomeinthewoodsItta Bena MS WWI parade Love and Service for Our Boys float2013Itta Bena MS WWI parade Love and Service for Our Boys…IttaBenaCityLimitSign2011IttaBenaCityLimitSignMSMap-doton-IttaBena2007MSMap-doton-IttaBenaMonument and Magnolias - Itta Bena Cemetery, Leflore County, Mississipp2006Monument and Magnolias - Itta Bena Cemetery, Leflore …
On the map

Itta Bena on the map, 1961 to 1983

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

Itta Bena on the 1961 USGS mapItta Bena on the 1983 USGS map1961Mossy Lake 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 Itta Bena.

Every building

Itta Bena, building by building, 1905–1918

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.

Itta Bena fire insurance map, 1905, sheet 11905Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Itta Bena

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

See all →
Luther JohnsonAmerican Chicago blues singer and guitarist · b. 1939
P
Pervis SpannMusic promoter · b. 1932
A
Andre AllenAmerican football player · b. 1973
J
Jimmy LewisAmerican musician · b. 1937

Questions about Itta Bena’s history

What year was Itta Bena founded?

The Itta Bena post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Itta Bena rank for history?

Itta Bena is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns. 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 Itta Bena?

One place: the Itta Bena Historic District (listed 2009).

How old are the homes in Itta Bena?

4% of Itta Bena’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.8 points), against a typical 4.5% for a Mississippi town; the median home was built in 1976.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (13), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.