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B+History
History · McComb

McComb’s post office opened in 1872, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 70% of U.S. towns · #31 of 100 in Mississippi. What drives it

7 places in town are on the National Register, among them four historic districts with 607 buildings between them. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1880.

1872first post office
7on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
48famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From McComb’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How McComb began

When was McComb founded?

1872

The McComb post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Dinan (1890), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 1,982 in 18802020 census: 12,413154 years

How historic is McComb?

B+

More historic than 70% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives McComb’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, McComb is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #31 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 McComb’s overall grade.
Founding era1872, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194012.9% of homes (±4.4) · typical MS town 4.5% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register7 listings, 610 historic buildings, 506 per 10,000 residents · typical MS town 71.9 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 70%
NewerOlder
Mississippi towns of 2,500+ (100)Ahead of 70%

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 McComb’s 506 sits above most of its state (89% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 610 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 is a Census survey estimate (±4.4 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 McComb’s past

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

A historic districtThe States Area Neighborhood Historic District takes in 528 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building7 fire insurance maps, 1886 to 1918, drew every building in McComb.Famous sons and daughtersBritney Spears, Brandy Norwood and 46 more were born here.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

7 listings protect 610 historic buildings

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

places listed
7
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
610
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Kramertown-Railroad Historic District
William Frederick Holmes House, built 1894Kramertown-Railroad Historic DistrictWhite-Alford HouseBrentwoodMcComb Downtown Historic DistrictStates Area Neighborhood Historic DistrictBurglund Heights
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne1
Colonial Revival1
Late Victorian1
Classical1
Classical Revival1
Tudor1
William Frederick Holmes HouseQueen Anne · Built 1894
All 7 listings
Kramertown-Railroad Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1980White-Alford HouseBuilding · listed 1983BrentwoodBuilding · listed 1989McComb Downtown Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2004States Area Neighborhood Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2014Burglund HeightsDistrict · listed 2024

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

Help out

Start McComb’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how McComb’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewNoon at Delta Cotton Mills, Mc Comb, Mi…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

McComb, building by building, 1886–1918

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.

McComb fire insurance map, 1886, sheet 11886Sheet 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.

The story

How McComb came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of McComb.

Read it all →

McComb was founded in 1872 after Henry Simpson McComb of the New Orleans, Jackson and Great Northern Railroad, a predecessor of the Illinois Central Railroad (now part of the Canadian National Railway), decided to move the railroad's maintenance shops away from New Orleans, Louisiana, to avoid the attractions of that city's bars.

The railroad purchased land in Pike County. Three nearby communities, Elizabethtown, Burglund, and Harveytown, agreed to consolidate to form this town. Main Street developed with the downtown's shops, attractions, and business.

Chapters19th century20th century21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

McComb, 1872 to 1991

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe Mc Comb post office opens
  3. 1890Post officeThe Dinan post office opens
  4. 1894BuiltWilliam Frederick Holmes House is built
  5. 20th century
  6. 1909Post officeThe Dinan post office closes
  7. 1911In the archiveNoon at Delta Cotton Mills, Mc Comb, Miss. Three of the young workers. LOC nclc.02072
  8. 1928Born hereBo Diddley is born here
  9. 1972On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1979Born hereBrandy Norwood is born here
  11. 1981Born hereBritney Spears is born here
  12. 1991Born hereJamie Lynn Spears is born here
By decade

McComb, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s4 items
Noon at Delta Cotton Mills, Mc Comb, Miss. Three of the young workers. LOC nclc.020721911Noon at Delta Cotton Mills, Mc Comb, Miss. Three of t…Noon hour, Delta Cotton Mills, Mc Comb, Miss. All work. LOC nclc.020761911Noon hour, Delta Cotton Mills, Mc Comb, Miss. All wor…Noon hour, Delta Cotton Mills, Mc Comb, Miss. All work. LOC nclc.020771911Noon hour, Delta Cotton Mills, Mc Comb, Miss. All wor…Some of the adolescents working in Delta Cotton Mills, Mc Comb Miss. LOC nclc.020791911Some of the adolescents working in Delta Cotton Mills…
1920s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today7 recent
Enterprise-Journal2025Enterprise-JournalDocumentBo Diddley Blues Trail Marker2017Bo Diddley Blues Trail MarkerWHITE-ALFORD HOUSE2008WHITE-ALFORD HOUSEMSMap-doton-McComb2007MSMap-doton-McCombFEMA - 20527 - Photograph by Patsy Lynch taken on 12-17-2005 in Mississippi2005FEMA - 20527 - Photograph by Patsy Lynch taken on 12-…FEMA - 20524 - Photograph by Patsy Lynch taken on 12-17-2005 in Mississippi2005FEMA - 20524 - Photograph by Patsy Lynch taken on 12-…FEMA - 16859 - Photograph by Nicolas Britto taken on 10-07-2005 in Mississippi2005FEMA - 16859 - Photograph by Nicolas Britto taken on …
On the map

McComb on the map, 1972 to 1994

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

McComb on the 1972 USGS mapMcComb on the 1984 USGS mapMcComb on the 1994 USGS map1972McComb South sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of McComb.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Noon at Delta Cotton Mills, Mc Comb, Miss. Three of the young workers. LOC nclc.02072
Retake this viewNoon at Delta Cotton Mills, Mc Comb, Miss. Three of the young workers. LOC nclc.02072, 1911

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on McComb’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

McComb, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 13,337

Between 1,982 and 13,337 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

48 famous people were born in McComb

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

See all →
Britney SpearsAmerican singer, songwriter, actress and model · b. 1981
Brandy NorwoodAmerican singer, songwriter and actress · b. 1979
Jamie Lynn SpearsAmerican actress and singer · b. 1991
Bo DiddleyAmerican guitarist · b. 1928
Ray JAmerican R&B singer and actor · b. 1981
Jarrod DysonAmerican baseball player · b. 1984
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Dinan, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Mc Comb
1872–today
Dinan
1890–1909
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bear TownOakland
Gone or out of use
Holmes Schoolschool
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside McComb
AndrewsCarroll - CookClarkDinahEzellGreenwoodHollywood

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Summit1 historic placeC+

Questions about McComb’s history

What year was McComb founded?

The McComb post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does McComb rank for history?

McComb is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #31 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 McComb?

7 listings: 3 buildings and 4 historic districts with 607 contributing buildings. 610 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in McComb?

13% of McComb’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 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 (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (7), 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.