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History · Prentiss

Prentiss’ post office opened in 1903, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 6 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1970 on, and the census since 1910.

1903first post office
3on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Prentiss’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Prentiss began

When was Prentiss founded?

1903

The Prentiss post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Blountville (1879), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 640 in 19102020 census: 976123 years
Founding year: the first Prentiss post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Prentiss’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,789 in 1970; 976 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Prentiss’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewJefferson Davis County Mississippi Cour…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Prentiss, census by census

05001,0001,5002,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,789

Peaked at 1,789 in 1970; 976 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Prentiss came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Prentiss.

Read it all →

Originally part of Lawrence County, the town was first named "Blountville", after William Blount, an early settler and merchant. Blountville High School was established in 1885 on 10 acres (4.0 ha) of land. A depot was established in Blountville when the Pearl & Leaf Rivers Railroad (later Illinois Central Railroad) was completed in 1903. That same year the town was officially established and named "Prentiss", after Prentiss Webb Berry, a prominent landowner in the area.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Prentiss, 1879 to 1993

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879Post officeThe Blountville post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1903Post officeThe Blountville post office closes
  5. 1903Post officeThe Prentiss post office opens
  6. 1907BuiltJefferson Davis County Courthouse is built
  7. 1912Born hereThelma Farr Baxter is born here
  8. 1924Born hereClyde Otis is born here
  9. 1963Born hereVincent Davis is born here
  10. 1970On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 1,789
  12. 1993In the archiveJefferson Davis County Mississippi Courthouse
By decade

Prentiss, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s1 item
Jefferson Davis County Mississippi Courthouse1993Jefferson Davis County Mississippi Courthouse
On the map

Prentiss on the map, 1970 to 1994

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

Prentiss on the 1970 USGS mapPrentiss on the 1984 USGS mapPrentiss on the 1994 USGS map1970Prentiss East 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 Prentiss.

On the National Register

3 historic places in Prentiss

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
8
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
1907 House
Jefferson Davis County Courthouse, built 19071907 HousePrentiss Normal and Industrial Institute Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Classic Revival1
Jefferson Davis County CourthouseClassic Revival · Built 1907
All 3 listings
1907 HouseBuilding · listed 1979Prentiss Normal and Industrial Institute Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2016

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Prentiss

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

See all →
C
Clyde OtisAmerican songwriter, record producer, music exe… · b. 1924
V
Vincent DavisAmerican politician · b. 1963
F
Felecia M. NaveAmerican chemical engineer and academic adminis…
T
Thelma Farr BaxterAmerican politician, schoolteacher, and busines… · b. 1912
John F. BurrowAmerican lawyer · b. 1885
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Prentiss’s post office has been open since 1903. Another post office, Blountville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Blountville
1879–1903
Prentiss
1903–today
18701950today
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Prentiss
BethanyPrentiss

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

Questions about Prentiss’ history

What year was Prentiss founded?

The Prentiss post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Prentiss?

Three places: the Jefferson Davis County Courthouse (listed 1994), the 1907 House (1979) and the Prentiss Normal and Industrial Institute Historic District (2016).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.