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History · McLain

McLain’s post office opened in 1902

Most of McLain was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Below: 1 old photo or paper.

1902first post office
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From McLain’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How McLain began

When was McLain founded?

1902

The McLain post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 313124 years
Founding year: the first McLain post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about McLain’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start McLain’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewMcClain, Miss., Feb. 22, 2013 -- AIR (A…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How McLain came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of McLain.

Read it all →

In early spring 2016, McLain had major flooding which closed many roads and the school. On March 30, 2022, an EF2 tornado struck the town, causing considerable damage.

ChaptersNatural disasters

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

McLain, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
McClain, Miss., Feb. 22, 2013 -- AIR (Assess, Inform and Report) team members together with members of a PDA (Post Disa…Date?McClain, Miss., Feb. 22, 2013 -- AIR (Assess, Inform …
Today3 recent
McLain High School MS2015McLain High School MSMcLain Attendance Center MS2015McLain Attendance Center MSMSMap-doton-McLain2007MSMap-doton-McLain
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.

McClain, Miss., Feb. 22, 2013 -- AIR (Assess, Inform and Report) team members together with members of a PDA (Post Disa…
Retake this viewMcClain, Miss., Feb. 22, 2013 -- AIR (Assess, Inform and Report) team members together with members of a PDA (Post Disa…

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

Retake this view · +15

Questions about McLain’s history

What year was McLain founded?

The McLain post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (4), 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.