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Waveland, MississippiPhoto: Roastedbeanz1 · CC BY 4.0
CHistory
History · Waveland

Waveland’s post office opened in 1875, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 34% of U.S. towns · #64 of 100 in Mississippi. What drives it

Most of Waveland was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. Its Register listing is the Waveland Elementary School. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1982 on, and the census since 1890.

1875first post office
1on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Waveland’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Waveland began

When was Waveland founded?

1875

The Waveland post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1972.

First census: 328 in 18902020 census: 7,210151 years

How historic is Waveland?

C

More historic than 34% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Waveland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1972.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Waveland’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Waveland is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #64 of 100 in Mississippi. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Waveland’s overall grade.
Founding era1875, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19407.0% of homes (±5.6) · typical MS town 4.5% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register1 listing, 1.4 per 10,000 residents · typical MS town 71.9 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 34%
NewerOlder
Mississippi towns of 2,500+ (100)Ahead of 36%

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 Waveland’s 1.4 sits near the middle of its state (41% 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 C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1972.

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 Waveland’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Waveland’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewVictorian cottage. Waveland, Mississippi: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Waveland came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Waveland.

Read it all →

Andrew Jackson once lived and owned land in Waveland on what is now known as Jackson Ridge. Much of Jackson Ridge later became Buccaneer State Park.

On August 17, 1969, Hurricane Camille made landfall at the tip of Louisiana before continuing on shore at Waveland. The storm heavily damaged the areas south of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. Recovery efforts went on for nearly a decade. The town later erected a plaque commemorating the efforts of the volunteers who committed time and resources towards rebuilding.

ChaptersHurricane CamilleHurricane Katrina

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Waveland, 1873 to 1982

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Born hereArthur Putnam is born here
  3. 1875Post officeThe Waveland post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1936In the archiveVictorian cottage. Waveland, Mississippi
  6. 1953In the archiveMississippi Gulf Coast New Orleans to Mobile 1953 Map
  7. 1982In the archiveMap Eastern New Orleans to Gulfport MS 1982
  8. 1982On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Waveland, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s–1980s3 items
Victorian cottage. Waveland, Mississippi1936Victorian cottage. Waveland, MississippiMississippi Gulf Coast New Orleans to Mobile 1953 Map1953Mississippi Gulf Coast New Orleans to Mobile 1953 MapMapMap Eastern New Orleans to Gulfport MS 19821982Map Eastern New Orleans to Gulfport MS 1982Map
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
Today8 recent
Colorful home along the Gulf of Mexico2016Colorful home along the Gulf of MexicoA cute "birdhouse library"2016A cute "birdhouse library"Portable generator in2006Portable generator inSt Patty's Day Parade in Waveland MS 2004 - 42004St Patty's Day Parade in Waveland MS 2004 - 4St Patty's Day Parade in Waveland MS 2004 - 32004St Patty's Day Parade in Waveland MS 2004 - 3St Patty's Day Parade in Waveland MS 2004 - 22004St Patty's Day Parade in Waveland MS 2004 - 2St Patty's Day Parade in Waveland MS 2004 - 12004St Patty's Day Parade in Waveland MS 2004 - 1Broken pier beach2004Broken pier beach
On the map

Waveland on the map in 1982

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Waveland.

Waveland on the 1982 USGS map1982Gulfport sheet · 1:100,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Waveland.

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.

Victorian cottage. Waveland, Mississippi
Retake this viewVictorian cottage. Waveland, Mississippi, 1936

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Waveland

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2014
Waveland Elementary School
Waveland Elementary School
Buildings
All 1 listings
Waveland Elementary SchoolBuilding · listed 2014

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Waveland, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00019001920194019601980200020207,210

Grew from 328 people in 1890 to 7,210 in 2020, more than tenfold.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners

Waveland’s post office has been open since 1875.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Gulfside

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Bay St. Louis7 historic placesB

Questions about Waveland’s history

What year was Waveland founded?

The Waveland post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1972.

How does Waveland rank for history?

Waveland is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #64 of 100 in Mississippi. 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 Waveland?

One place: the Waveland Elementary School (listed 2014).

How old are the homes in Waveland?

7% of Waveland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 points), against a typical 4.5% for a Mississippi town; the median home was built in 2003.

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 (8), 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) 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.