The story
Read it all →How Jonesville came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Jonesville.
The McWhirter House and Means House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Jonesville
Jonesville’s post office opened in 1828, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940
Its Register listing is the McWhirter House. Below: maps from 1969 on and the census since 1880.
1828first post office
1on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Quick answers
How Jonesville began
When was Jonesville founded?
1828
The Jonesville post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Pea Ridge (1832), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 266 in 18802020 census: 852198 years
Founding year: the first Jonesville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Jonesville’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 Jonesville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,447 in 1970; 852 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsA post office since 1828: 198 years of Jonesville.Old housesHalf of Jonesville’s homes were built before 1961.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Jonesville’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Jonesville’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.People over time
Jonesville, census by census
Peaked at 1,447 in 1970; 852 people lived here in 2020.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Jonesville’s Wikipedia page.
Timeline
Jonesville, 1828 to 1970
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1828Post officeThe Jonesville post office opens
- 1832Post officeThe Pea Ridge post office opens
- 1857Post officeThe Pea Ridge post office closes
- 1890
Born hereRobert McGowan Littlejohn is born here - 20th century
- 1911
Born herePeg Leg Sam is born here - 1969
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 1,447
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your albumOn the map
Jonesville on the map, 1969 to 1986
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Jonesville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1969Jonesville sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Jonesville.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Jonesville
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
2003
McWhirter House
Buildings
Architectural styles listings
Classical Revival1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Famous people
See all →2 famous people were born in Jonesville
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices and burying grounds
Jonesville’s post office has been open since 1828. Another post office, Pea Ridge, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Jonesville
Pea Ridge
18201920today
1cemetery inside Jonesville
Bethany Baptist Church
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Jonesville’s history
What year was Jonesville founded?
The Jonesville post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What is on the National Register in Jonesville?
One place: the McWhirter House (listed 2003).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikidata (1), 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.