History · Nettleton

Nettleton’s post office opened in 1887, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 29% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1966 on and the census since 1900.

1887first post office

0on the National Register

12%homes built before 1940

2famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

Quick answers

How Nettleton began

When was Nettleton founded?

1887

The Nettleton post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 570 in 19002020 census: 1,935139 years

How historic is Nettleton?

More historic than 29% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first Nettleton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

History grade

What drives Nettleton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Nettleton is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Nettleton’s overall grade.

Founding era1887, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC⁺Homes built before 194012.1% of homes (±11.3) · typical MS town 4.5% · U.S. 8.4%B⁻National RegisterNo listings counted · typical MS town 71.9 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C⁻

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 29%

NewerOlder

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 Nettleton’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (19% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±11.3 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 Nettleton’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 Nettleton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Nettleton’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

The story so far

Nettleton, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Nettleton yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Nettleton is a city in Lee and Monroe counties in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The population was 1,935 at the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1888, the town was named after George Henry Nettleton, president of the Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham Railroad (KCM&B).

Its first post office opened in 1887. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,992 to 1,935 (-3%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Nettleton, 1887 to 1974

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

19th century
1887Post officeThe Nettleton post office opens
20th century
1940Born hereJim Price is born here
1966On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1974Born hereJason Ferguson is born here

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.

Add from your album

On the map

Nettleton on the map, 1966 to 1984

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

1966Nettleton 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 Nettleton.

People over time

Nettleton, census by census

Between 570 and 2,462 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Nettleton

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

See all →

Jason FergusonPlayer of American football · b. 1974

Jim PriceAmerican football player · b. 1940

Questions about Nettleton’s history

What year was Nettleton founded?

The Nettleton post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Nettleton rank for history?

Nettleton is more historic than 29% 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.

How old are the homes in Nettleton?

12% of Nettleton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.3 points), against a typical 4.5% for a Mississippi town; the median home was built in 1981.

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 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.

Post to Nettleton

Check your email