Meridian’s post office opened in 1854, and 41 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 62% of U.S. towns · #39 of 100 in Mississippi. What drives it
Most of Meridian was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1969. 41 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Highland Park Dentzel Carousel and Shelter Building, a National Historic Landmark, and ten historic districts with 1,135 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1870.
The Meridian post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Complete (1891) and Bonita (1894), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 2,709 in 18702020 census: 35,052172 years
How historic is Meridian?
B
More historic than 62% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Meridian post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Meridian’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Meridian is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #39 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 Meridian’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 Meridian’s 344 sits above most of its state (83% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 1,174 historic buildings outnumber those of 99% 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 (±1.8 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 Meridian’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Previously inhabited by the Choctaw Native Americans, the area now called Meridian was obtained by the United States under the terms of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830 during the period of Indian removal. After the treaty was ratified, European-American settlers began to move into the area.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Meridian. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1921Meridian sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Meridian.
Every building
Meridian, building by building, 1885–1912
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.
The Meridian post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Meridian rank for history?
Meridian is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #39 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 Meridian?
41 listings: 28 buildings, among them the Merrehope (listed 1971, the first), 10 historic districts with 1,135 contributing buildings, 2 sites, and 1 structure. 1,174 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Meridian?
9% of Meridian’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.8 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 (3), Wikidata (13), the National Register of Historic Places (41), 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.
★ Landmark
1911![[The Dependent Widower]. Location: [Meridian, Mississippi]](https://images.townratings.com/story/9259/f87e4140fe241f707740-s.jpg)
1911
1911
