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RHS CCPhoto: RiverCity49 · Public domain
–Not graded
History · Randolph

Randolph’s post office opened in 1854

Most of Randolph was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: maps from 1972 on.

1854first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Photo: RiverCity49 · Public domain
Quick answers

How Randolph began

When was Randolph founded?

1854

The Randolph post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 197172 years
Founding year: the first Randolph post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Randolph’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 Randolph are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Randolph’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Randolph came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Randolph.

Read it all →

Randolph is named for John Randolph, a settler who moved to the area from Kentucky and operated a store in the area.

A school opened in Randolph in the 1840s. By 1935, this school had consolidated with several other schools and was known as Randolph High School. Randolph High School closed in 1972.

Randolph is home to the only remaining Amish community in the Deep South. In 1995, a group of Swartzentruber Amish from Ethridge, Tennessee founded a community on the outskirts of Randolph.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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.
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On the map

Randolph on the map, 1972 to 1990

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

Randolph on the 1972 USGS mapRandolph on the 1984 USGS mapRandolph on the 1990 USGS map1972Randolph 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 Randolph.

Famous people

Famous people close to Randolph

Nobody well known was born in Randolph itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Elvis PresleyAmerican singer and actor · b. 1935
William FaulknerAmerican writer · b. 1897
DiploAmerican DJ and record producer · b. 1978
Roger WickerAmerican lawyer and politician · b. 1951
Thad CochranUnited States Senator from Mississippi · b. 1937
Bobbie GentryAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1942
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Randolph’s post office has been open since 1854.

Gone or out of use
Randolph High Schoolschool

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

Questions about Randolph’s history

What year was Randolph founded?

The Randolph post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 Wikipedia, 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.