Long Beach’s post office opened in 1884, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 25% of U.S. towns · #72 of 100 in Mississippi. What drives it
Its Register listing is the W. J. Quarles House and Cottage. Most of Long Beach was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1924 on, and the census since 1910.
The Long Beach post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1905. Another post office, Scott Station (1872), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,026 in 19102020 census: 16,780142 years
How historic is Long Beach?
C−
More historic than 25% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Long Beach post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1905.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Long Beach’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Long Beach is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #72 of 100 in Mississippi. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Long Beach’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 Long Beach’s 1.2 sits near the middle of its state (40% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1905.
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 Long Beach’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Long Beach began as an agricultural town, based around its radish industry, but on August 10, 1905, Long Beach incorporated and became another city on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. As the years went on, the city moved from its agricultural heritage and moved toward tourism with the beach becoming increasingly popular.
Long Beach's early economy was based largely upon radishes. Logging initially drove the local economy, but when the area's virgin yellow pine forests became depleted, row crops were planted on the newly cleared land.
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 Long Beach post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1905.
How does Long Beach rank for history?
Long Beach is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #72 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 Long Beach?
One place: the W. J. Quarles House and Cottage (listed 1980).
How old are the homes in Long Beach?
1% of Long Beach’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.5% for a Mississippi town; the median home was built in 1986.
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 (11), Wikidata (1), 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.
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