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C−History
History · Tutwiler

Tutwiler’s post office opened in 1899

More historic than 19% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Tutwiler was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: maps from 1935 on and the census since 1900.

1899first post office
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Chillin662 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Tutwiler began

When was Tutwiler founded?

1899

The Tutwiler post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Tulwiler (1890), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 142 in 19002020 census: 2,476127 years

How historic is Tutwiler?

C−

More historic than 19% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Tutwiler post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Tutwiler’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Tutwiler is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Tutwiler’s overall grade.
Founding era1899, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19404.1% of homes (±3.8) · typical MS town 4.5% · U.S. 8.4%CNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical MS town 71.9 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 19%
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 Tutwiler’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (19% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.8 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 Tutwiler’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 Tutwiler are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1920 and 1940, then grew 3-fold.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Tutwiler’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Tutwiler’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
People over time

Tutwiler, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,50019001920194019601980200020201,010 in 1920Low: 665

Lost a third of its people between 1920 and 1940, then grew 3-fold.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story

How Tutwiler came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Tutwiler.

Read it all →

In 1899, Tom Tutwiler, a civil engineer for a local railroad, made his headquarters seven miles northwest of Sumner. The town of Tutwiler was founded and named for him. When the railroad was built, the first depot erected was a two-story building. The railroad gave the town use of the top floor as a public school. Captain H.B. Fitch built and operated the first store in town. His wife took charge of the school, which began with five pupils.

In 1900, a Black mob murdered a Black man remembered as "Dago Pete." He was suspected of attacking local women.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Tutwiler, 1890 to 2010

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1890Post officeThe Tulwiler post office opens
  3. 1899Post officeThe Tulwiler post office closes
  4. 1899Post officeThe Tutwiler post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1924Born hereVera Pigee is born here
  7. 1932Born hereWillie Kizart is born here
  8. 1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1949Born hereAldon D. Morris is born here
  10. 1997Born hereBigWalkDog is born here
  11. 21st century
  12. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 3,550
By decade

Tutwiler, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Tutwiler MS 0082012Tutwiler MS 008Tutwiler MS 0072012Tutwiler MS 007Tutwiler MS 0062012Tutwiler MS 006Tutwiler MS 0052012Tutwiler MS 005Tutwiler MS 0042012Tutwiler MS 004Tutwiler MS 0032012Tutwiler MS 003Tutwiler MS 0022012Tutwiler MS 002Tutwiler MS 0012012Tutwiler MS 001Shack-Up Inn Clarksdale MS 2012-10-21 0172012Shack-Up Inn Clarksdale MS 2012-10-21 017Heidi Solheim på sporet i2012Heidi Solheim på sporet iMSMap-doton-Tutwiler2007MSMap-doton-TutwilerHighway49TutwilerMS2006Highway49TutwilerMS
On the map

Tutwiler on the map, 1935 to 1967

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

Tutwiler on the 1935 USGS mapTutwiler on the 1967 USGS map1935Tutwiler 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 Tutwiler.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Tutwiler

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

See all →
BigWalkDogAmerican rapper · b. 1997
A
Aldon D. MorrisAmerican professor of sociology and African-Ame… · b. 1949
V
Vera PigeeAmerican civil rights activist · b. 1924
W
Willie KizartMusical artist · b. 1932
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Tutwiler’s post office has been open since 1899. Another post office, Tulwiler, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Tulwiler
1890–1899
Tutwiler
1899–today
18901960today
Gone or out of use
Tutwiler Elementary Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Tutwiler
GalenaRosemound

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

Questions about Tutwiler’s history

What year was Tutwiler founded?

The Tutwiler post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Tutwiler rank for history?

Tutwiler is more historic than 19% 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.

How old are the homes in Tutwiler?

4% of Tutwiler’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.8 points), against a typical 4.5% for a Mississippi town; the median home was built in 1975.

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 (12), 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.