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C+History
History · Pearlington

Pearlington’s post office opened in 1822, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 43% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Pearlington was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2004. Its Register listings are the House at 5098 MS 604 and the William and Mary McGee House. Below: 8 old photos and papers and maps from 1956 on.

1822first post office
2on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
8old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Pearlington’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Pearlington began

When was Pearlington founded?

1822

The Pearlington post office opened in 1822, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Logtown (1884), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 1,153204 years

How historic is Pearlington?

C+

More historic than 43% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Pearlington post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Pearlington’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pearlington is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pearlington’s overall grade.
Founding era1822, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±2.0) · typical MS town 4.5% · U.S. 8.4%D−National Register2 listings, 15.6 per 10,000 residents · typical MS town 71.9 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 43%
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 Pearlington’s 15.6 sits near the middle of its state (55% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. The pre-1940 share (±2.0 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 Pearlington’s past

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

Deep rootsA post office since 1822: 204 years of Pearlington.
★ What stands out · Timeline

Pearlington, 1817 to 1963

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1817Born hereRipley A. Arnold is born here
  3. 1822Post officeThe Pearlington post office opens
  4. 1884Post officeThe Logtown post office opens
  5. 1898Born hereEmma Sadler Moss is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1943In the archivePearlington, Mississippi. Truck driver at a highway coffee stop on U.S. Highway 90
  8. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1963Post officeThe Logtown post office closes
The story so far

Pearlington, in brief

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

Pearlington is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hancock County, Mississippi, United States, on U.S. Route 90, along the Pearl River, at the Louisiana state line. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, Pearlington had a population of 1,153. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall just south of Pearlington.

Its first post office opened in 1822. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,332 to 1,153 (-13%).

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

By decade

Pearlington, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s8 items
Pearlington, Mississippi. Truck driver at a highway coffee stop on U.S. Highway 901943Pearlington, Mississippi. Truck driver at a highway c…Pearlington (vicinity), Mississippi. Truck drivers at a highway coffee stop on U.S. Highway 901943Pearlington (vicinity), Mississippi. Truck drivers at…Pearlington (vicinity), Mississippi. Truck driver eating at a trucker's stop along U.S. Highway 901943Pearlington (vicinity), Mississippi. Truck driver eat…Pearlington (vicinity), Mississippi. James Hall, truck driver, enroute to New Orleans on U.S. Highway 901943Pearlington (vicinity), Mississippi. James Hall, truc…Pearlington (vicinity), Mississippi. James Hall, truck driver, enroute to New Orleans on U.S. Highway 901943Pearlington (vicinity), Mississippi. James Hall, truc…Pearlington, Mississippi. James Hall, truck driver, stopping for a cup of coffee and working on his log1943Pearlington, Mississippi. James Hall, truck driver, s…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Pearlington (vicinity), Mississippi. Truck drivers at a highway coffee stop on U.S…1943Untitled photo, possibly related to: Pearlington (vic…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Pearlington (vicinity), Mississippi. James Hall, truck driver, enroute to New Orle…1943Untitled photo, possibly related to: Pearlington (vic…
1950s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today10 recent
The area surrounding Occupy Isaac's Hub in2012The area surrounding Occupy Isaac's Hub inPearlington Neighborhood2012Pearlington NeighborhoodPearlington Neighborhood 22012Pearlington Neighborhood 2PearlRiver.Pearlington.201212292012PearlRiver.Pearlington.20121229Occupy Isaac Hub in2012Occupy Isaac Hub inUS Navy 081218-N-6981B-006 Gunnery Sgt. Theodis Jones accepts a $15,000 check for the U.S. Marine Corps annual Toys for…2008US Navy 081218-N-6981B-006 Gunnery Sgt. Theodis Jones…Pearlington mississippi sign2007Pearlington mississippi signUS Navy 051016-N-3729H-222 Volunteer Sailors assigned to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74)…2005US Navy 051016-N-3729H-222 Volunteer Sailors assigned…US Navy 051016-N-3729H-148 Volunteer Sailors assigned to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74)…2005US Navy 051016-N-3729H-148 Volunteer Sailors assigned…FEMA - 18021 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 10-27-2005 in Mississippi2005FEMA - 18021 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 10-2…
On the map

Pearlington on the map, 1956 to 1993

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

Pearlington on the 1956 USGS mapPearlington on the 1968 USGS mapPearlington on the 1993 USGS map1956English Lookout 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 Pearlington.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Pearlington, Mississippi. Truck driver at a highway coffee stop on U.S. Highway 90
Retake this viewPearlington, Mississippi. Truck driver at a highway coffee stop on U.S. Highway 90, 1943

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Pearlington’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Pearlington

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2016
House at 5098 MS 604
House at 5098 MS 604William and Mary McGee House
Buildings
All 2 listings
House at 5098 MS 604Building · listed 2016William and Mary McGee HouseBuilding · listed 2021

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Pearlington

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

See all →
E
Emma Sadler MossPathologist · b. 1898
R
Ripley A. Arnoldb. 1817
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Pearlington’s post office has been open since 1822. Another post office, Logtown, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Pearlington
1822–today
Logtown
1884–1963
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Logtown

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Pearlington’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPearlington, Mississippi. Truck driver …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Pearlington’s history

What year was Pearlington founded?

The Pearlington post office opened in 1822, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Pearlington rank for history?

Pearlington is more historic than 43% 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.

What is on the National Register in Pearlington?

Two places: the House at 5098 MS 604 (listed 2016) and the William and Mary McGee House (2021).

How old are the homes in Pearlington?

0.0% of Pearlington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 4.5% for a Mississippi town; the median home was built in 2004.

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 Wikimedia Commons (10), the Library of Congress (8), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.