Laurel dates to 1882, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 66% of U.S. towns · #33 of 100 in Mississippi. What drives it
8 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 774 buildings between them. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1900.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1884.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Laurel’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Laurel is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #33 of 100 in Mississippi. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Laurel’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 Laurel’s 443 sits above most of its state (87% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 784 historic buildings outnumber those of 98% 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 (±2.9 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1882.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Laurel’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.
People over time
Laurel, census by census
Peaked at 27,889 in 1960; 17,161 people lived here in 2020.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Laurel’s Wikipedia page.
Every building
Laurel, building by building, 1900–1915
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.
Following the 1881 construction of the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad through the area, economic development occurred rapidly. The city of Laurel was incorporated in 1882, with timber as the impetus. Yellow pine forests in the region fueled the industry. The city was named for thickets of mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) native to the original town site.
Located in the heart of the piney woods ecoregion of the Southeastern United States, the land site that eventually became Laurel was densely covered with forests of virgin longleaf pine, making the area attractive to pioneering lumberjacks and sawmill operators in the late 19th century.
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.
In 1882, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Laurel’s post office opened in 1884, and the census of 1900 counted 3,193 people here.
How does Laurel rank for history?
Laurel is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #33 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 Laurel?
8 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Newell Rogers House (listed 1987, the first), and 3 historic districts, the Laurel Central Historic District, the Oak Park School Complex and the Southside Neighborhood Historic District, with 774 contributing buildings. 784 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Laurel?
11% of Laurel’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 4.5% for a Mississippi town; the median home was built in 1969.
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 (2), the Library of Congress (8), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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.
1911
1911
1917
1938
1938
1938
1939
