Most of Lyman was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2006. Below: maps from 1982 on and the census since 2000.
The Lyman post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Finley (1892), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,081 in 20002020 census: 2,372125 years
How historic is Lyman?
D−
Among the newest of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Lyman post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Lyman’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lyman is among the newest of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lyman’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 Lyman’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (19% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be D−. The pre-1940 share (±1.7 points) is firm at this size. 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 Lyman’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lyman was once home to an express mail office, saw mill, and general store.
Lyman is located on the Kansas City Southern Railway. The Gulf Coast Lumber Company and Ingram-Day Lumber Company were both located in Lyman.
A post office operated under the name Lyman from 1901 to 1974.
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service operated a fish hatchery in Lyman until 1973, when the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks took over operations of the fisheries station.
The Lyman post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Lyman rank for history?
Lyman is among the newest 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.
How old are the homes in Lyman?
0.0% of Lyman’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 4.5% for a Mississippi town; the median home was built in 2006.
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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
