History · Sumrall

Sumrall’s post office opened in 1892, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 46% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Municipal Courtroon and Jail, Old. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1974 on, and the census since 1910.

1892first post office

1on the National Register

13%homes built before 1940

1old photo or paper

5famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Sumrall’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Sumrall began

When was Sumrall founded?

1892

The Sumrall post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 2,046 in 19102020 census: 1,765134 years

How historic is Sumrall?

B⁻

More historic than 46% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first Sumrall post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Sumrall’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sumrall is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B⁻

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sumrall’s overall grade.

Founding era1892, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC⁺Homes built before 194012.8% of homes (±9.7) · typical MS town 4.5% · U.S. 8.4%B⁻National Register1 listing, 6.0 per 10,000 residents · typical MS town 71.9 · U.S. 2.4B⁻

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 46%

NewerOlder

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 Sumrall’s 6.0 sits near the middle of its state (51% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.7 points). 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 Sumrall’s 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.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1910 and 1960, then more than doubled.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sumrall’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sumrall’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 viewMississippi Central Railroad Passenger …: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

People over time

Sumrall, census by census

Lost half of its people between 1910 and 1960, then more than doubled.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Sumrall came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Sumrall.

Read it all →

Sumrall was one of many new towns incorporated along the Mississippi Central Railroad during the first decade of the 20th century. Prior to the arrival of the railroad, founder Daniel Sumrall operated a grist mill along Mill Creek. In 1890, the federal government established a post office in the community and named it Sumrall. The J. J. Newman Company, headed by Fenwick Peck, chose the site as the location for a large sawmill. Situated in the heart of South Mississippi's pine belt, the location was ideal for just such a large mill. Evidence of the quality of timber in the area is supported by a prize-winning short leaf pine displayed at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. The tree was 160 feet tall, measured 20 feet in circumference and was 6 feet eight inches in diameter. With the arrival of the railroad, the town grew quickly and petitioned for incorporation as a town; this wish was g…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Sumrall, 1892 to 1974

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

19th century
1892Post officeThe Sumrall post office opens
20th century
1900In the archiveMississippi Central Railroad Passenger Train, Sumrall, Mississippi (circa early 1900s)
1910CensusPopulation peaks at 2,046
1917Born hereLeonard Caston is born here
1934Born hereBilly Lott is born here
1939Born hereArchie Cooley is born here
1948Born hereJake Brown is born here
1974On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey

By decade

Sumrall, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item

Mississippi Central Railroad Passenger Train, Sumrall, Mississippi (circa early 1900s)

1900Mississippi Central Railroad Passenger Train, Sumrall…

1910s–1990snothing yet

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.

Add from your album

Today6 recent

2022Old Municipal Courtroom and Jail-Sumrall MS

2013Sumrall Library

2013Longleaf Trace

2013Longleaf Trace - panoramio (1)

2013Library - panoramio (16)

2007MSMap-doton-Sumrall

On the map

Sumrall on the map, 1974 to 1994

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

1974Sumrall 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 Sumrall.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Retake this viewMississippi Central Railroad Passenger Train, Sumrall, Mississippi (circa early 1900s), 1900

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Sumrall’s page.

Retake this view · +15

On the National Register

1 historic place in Sumrall

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

place listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

2000

Municipal Courtroon and Jail, Old

Buildings

All 1 listings

Municipal Courtroon and Jail, OldBuilding · listed 2000

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 Sumrall

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

See all →

Billy LottAmerican football player · b. 1934

Jake BrownAmerican baseball player · b. 1948

Archie CooleyAmerican football coach · b. 1939

Leonard CastonAmerican blues pianist and guitarist · b. 1917

Sixty RayburnAmerican politician · b. 1916

Places that used to be

Old corners

Sumrall’s post office has been open since 1892.

Hamlets and corners on the map

Bynum

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

Questions about Sumrall’s history

What year was Sumrall founded?

The Sumrall post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Sumrall rank for history?

Sumrall is more historic than 46% 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 Sumrall?

One place: the Municipal Courtroon and Jail, Old (listed 2000).

How old are the homes in Sumrall?

13% of Sumrall’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.7 points), against a typical 4.5% for a Mississippi town; the median home was built in 2000.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (7), 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) 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.

Post to Sumrall

Check your email