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History · Myrtle

Myrtle’s post office opened in 1881

Most of Myrtle was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1955 on and the census since 1900.

1881first post office
0on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Myrtle began

When was Myrtle founded?

1881

The Myrtle post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 165 in 19002020 census: 484145 years
Founding year: the first Myrtle post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Myrtle’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Myrtle are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Myrtle’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Myrtle came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Myrtle.

Read it all →

Myrtle is rooted in a settlement known as "Candy Hill", which was established about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of the town's present location in 1857. When Candy Hill applied for a post office after the Civil War, it changed its name to "Myrtle", after the abundance of myrtle trees growing in the area. Following the construction of the Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham Railroad in the 1880s, the town shifted northward to its present location.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Myrtle, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Myrtle-water-tower-ms2018Myrtle-water-tower-msMyrtle-historical-marker-ms2018Myrtle-historical-marker-msMyrtle-Town-Hall-ms2018Myrtle-Town-Hall-msMyrtle-Springdale-Ave-ms2018Myrtle-Springdale-Ave-msMyrtle-RR-tracks-ms2018Myrtle-RR-tracks-ms
On the map

Myrtle on the map, 1955 to 2000

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

Myrtle on the 1955 USGS mapMyrtle on the 1982 USGS mapMyrtle on the 2000 USGS map1955Blue Mountain 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 Myrtle.

People over time

Myrtle, census by census

01002003004005001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 490

Between 165 and 490 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Myrtle

Nobody well known was born in Myrtle itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
William FaulknerAmerican writer · b. 1897
Ida B. WellsAmerican journalist and civil rights activist · b. 1862
Roger WickerAmerican lawyer and politician · b. 1951
Thad CochranUnited States Senator from Mississippi · b. 1937
Lorenzen WrightAmerican basketball player · b. 1975
S
Shelby McEwenAmerican high jumper · b. 1996

Questions about Myrtle’s history

What year was Myrtle founded?

The Myrtle post office opened in 1881, 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 →
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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 (5), 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.