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History · Richton

Richton’s post office opened in 1887, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

1887first post office
0on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Richton began

When was Richton founded?

1887

The Richton post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 920139 years
Founding year: the first Richton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

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

Start Richton’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Richton, in brief

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

Richton is a town in Perry County, Mississippi, United States. It is part of the Hattiesburg, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, Richton had a population of 920.

Its first post office opened in 1887. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,068 to 920 (-14%).

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

Timeline

Richton, 1876 to 1948

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1876Born hereColumbus W. Walley is born here
  3. 1887Post officeThe Richton post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1919Born hereRoy Cochran is born here
  6. 1927Born hereGeorge E. Johnson is born here
  7. 1948Born hereFrank Stanford is born here
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.
Add from your album
Famous people

5 famous people were born in Richton

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

See all →
Roy CochranAmerican sprinter and hurdler · b. 1919
G
George E. JohnsonAmerican businessman · b. 1927
F
Frank StanfordAmerican writer · b. 1948
Columbus W. WalleyDemocratic senator from Mississippi · b. 1876
H
Harvey MurphyAmerican football player · b. 1915
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Richton’s post office has been open since 1887.

Gone or out of use
Meadows Milllocale
1cemetery inside Richton
Sunset

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

Questions about Richton’s history

What year was Richton founded?

The Richton post office opened in 1887, 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 →
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 Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.