Kosciusko’s post office opened in 1837, and 13 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 81% of U.S. towns · #11 of 100 in Mississippi. What drives it
Most of Kosciusko was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. 13 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 379 buildings. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1890.
The Kosciusko post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Attala (1835), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,394 in 18902020 census: 7,114189 years
How historic is Kosciusko?
A−
More historic than 81% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Kosciusko post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Kosciusko’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kosciusko is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #11 of 100 in Mississippi. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kosciusko’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 Kosciusko’s 564 sits above most of its state (91% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 391 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.1 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 Kosciusko’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Kosciusko, building by building, 1886–1925
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.
1886Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Shortly before the War of 1812, David Choate, a French trader along with his wife, a Choctaw, opened the Choate Stand, an inn along the Natchez Trace. They chose a location near the intersection of the trace and a cross path that led to the Creek Indian Nation, where there was a natural spring to provide fresh water, at the approximate location of the current town square. Journals from the war of 1812 indicate that Andrew Jackson received supplies at Choate Stand. In 1850, the Choate family was forcibly removed to Indian Territory in Oklahoma by the Indian Removal Act, signed by Andrew Jackson. In 2017 Kosciusko inaugurated an annual Return to Redbud Springs Festival to honor this history.
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.
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 Kosciusko post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Kosciusko rank for history?
Kosciusko is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #11 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 Kosciusko?
13 listings: 12 buildings, among them the David L. Brown House (listed 1977, the first), and 1 historic district, the Kosciusko Historic District, with 379 contributing buildings. 391 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Kosciusko?
8% of Kosciusko’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 4.5% for a Mississippi town; the median home was built in 1974.
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 (6), the Library of Congress (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (13), 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.
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1913
1986
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