Most of Shaw was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Its Register listing is the Shaw Consolidated School. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1911 on, and the census since 1890.
The Shaw post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Shawsburgh (1886), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 201 in 18902020 census: 1,457140 years
How historic is Shaw?
C
More historic than 33% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Shaw post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Shaw’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Shaw is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Shaw’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 Shaw’s 19.9 sits near the middle of its state (58% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share (±2.7 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 Shaw’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
On June 30, 1914, Jack Farmer, an African-American resident of Shaw, was being sought by a white posse for allegedly murdering Earl Chase, a white man, also a resident of Shaw. Two deaths took place during the intense search: Jennie Collins, an African-American woman thought to have assisted Farmer in his flight, and James Jolly, a member of the posse who was mistaken for Farmer in the darkness. Both were shot and killed as the posse swept through a local swamp where Farmer was believed to be hiding. Farmer was never located.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Shaw. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1939Choctaw sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Shaw.
Every building
Shaw, building by building, 1911–1925
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Shaw’s post office has been open since 1886. Another post office, Shawsburgh, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Shaw
1886–today
Shawsburgh
1886–1886
18801950today
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Shaw’s history
What year was Shaw founded?
The Shaw post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Shaw rank for history?
Shaw is more historic than 33% 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 Shaw?
One place: the Shaw Consolidated School (listed 2017).
How old are the homes in Shaw?
3% of Shaw’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 4.5% for a Mississippi town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 (6), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1930
1930
2026
2026
2018
2018
2018
2018
