Most of Pelahatchie was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1924 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1851.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Pelahatchie’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pelahatchie is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pelahatchie’s overall grade.
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 Pelahatchie’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.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1850.
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 (±4.1 points).
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Pelahatchie’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Pelahatchie was founded in 1850, and named after Pelahatchie Creek.
The name Pelahatchie is derived from the Native American term meaning "crooked creek". The town was the bright spot in the county during the late 1800s mainly due to the railroad access in the heart of town.
Pelahatchie is home to both a public school, Pelahatchie Attendance Center (Chiefs), and a private school, East Rankin Academy (Patriots).
In June 2017, Ryshonda Harper Beechem was elected as mayor, the first African-American mayor in Rankin County. In June 2021, she was defeated in the general election by Karl VanHorn. VanHorn was reelected as mayor in June 2025 for a second term, defeating Beechem again.
In 1850, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Pelahatchie’s post office opened in 1851, and the census of 1880 counted 117 people here.
How does Pelahatchie rank for history?
Pelahatchie is more historic than 22% 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 Pelahatchie?
7% of Pelahatchie’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 4.5% for a Mississippi town; the median home was built in 1974.
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), Wikipedia, 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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