Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 58% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Monticello was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Below: maps from 1970 on and the census since 1860.
The Monticello post office opened in 1815, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 58% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Monticello is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Monticello’s 29.6 sits near the middle of its state (60% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Monticello’s history is told.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
BuiltLawrence County Courthouse is built
Born hereRod Paige is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Born hereAl Jefferson is born hereThe country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Monticello yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Monticello is a town in and the county seat of Lawrence County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2020 census, Monticello had a population of 1,441.
Its first post office opened in 1815. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,571 to 1,441 (-8%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Monticello. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Monticello.
Between 200 and 1,834 people in every census since 1860.
14 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Monticello’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
The Monticello post office opened in 1815, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Monticello is more historic than 58% 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.
4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Longino House (listed 1972, the first).
3% of Monticello’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 4.5% for a Mississippi town; the median home was built in 1973.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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) 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.
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2023
2021
2007