Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The Panther Burn post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name.
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 Panther Burn’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Panther Burn yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Panther Burn is a census-designated place along U.S. Route 61 in northwestern Sharkey County, Mississippi, United States. It has a post office with the ZIP code of 38765. Per the 2020 Census, the population was 267.
Its first post office opened in 1884.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Panther Burn. 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 Panther Burn.
Nobody well known was born in Panther Burn itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Panther Burn post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
2022
2022
