Most of Terry was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1937 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1834.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Terry’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Terry is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Terry’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 Terry’s 30.9 sits near the middle of its state (61% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1811.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.5 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Terry’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The town of Terry, originally known as Dry Grove, changed its name in honor of William D. Terry, whose land the town was built on. This information comes from the bronze plaque in the town's center at Utica and Cunningham streets. The area was established in 1811 by settlers from Virginia. In 1867, the town of Terry was established as a depot when the railroad was built through the area. The town's community burying ground, Terry Cemetery, lies just west of town near Interstate 55. Terry donated sites for churches, a school, and a cemetery, and that he was buried there on July 13, 1882, with other members of the Terry family. Published gravestone transcriptions record burials from the mid-19th century onward. A separate, older family burying ground known as the William S. Terry Family Cemetery, recorded near County Line Church with a first known grave in 1834, was reported as no longer …
Passages that mention Terry, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Hinds County, Mississippi, 1821-1922. Published in commemoration of the centenary of the city of Jackson ... by Mrs. Dunbar Rowland (Eron O. Rowland)1922Read the page →
Read the text
Terry, an incorporated post-town in the southeastern part of Hinds County, on the Illinois Central Railroad, is 16 miles south and west of Jackson. The town was named for William Terry, affectionately referred to as “Uncle Bill Terry,” a former resident of the vicinity. Truck farming and market gardening are extensively carried on in the surrounding country and this station is one of the most important fruit and vegetable shipping points in the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Terry, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
In 1811, according to Wikidata. Terry’s post office opened in 1834, and the census of 1880 counted 198 people here.
How does Terry rank for history?
Terry is more historic than 55% 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 Terry?
4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Dudley Jones House (listed 1984, the first). 5 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Terry?
2% of Terry’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.5 points), against a typical 4.5% for a Mississippi town; the median home was built in 1998.
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 (3), the Library of Congress (7), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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