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History · Magnolia

A history of Magnolia,
then and now

Postcards, papers and photographs of Magnolia from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.

11old images & papers
16historic places
0recent photos
From Magnolia’s archive · credits on each photo

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

Magnolia was founded in 1856 by Ansel H. Prewett, a local civic leader and cotton planter. Knowing that the approaching New Orleans, Jackson, and Great Northern Railroad (now the Illinois Central Railroad) would need a station for water and fuel, Prewett sold a right-of-way to the railroad company – for one dollar, according to legend – and divided a section of his plantation into town lots, which he sold to investors. Prewett, while serving as temporary sheriff of Pike County, was killed by outlaws in the early 1870s escorting a prisoner on the very railroad that made Magnolia a viable community.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

built from the dates on the items below
1910s11 items · Dependent (able-bodied) parents. Fami…Commons
1920–1999Nothing yet. Family albums go here.
Help out

Finish Magnolia’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewDependent (able-bodied) parents. …, 1911: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Magnolia

See all 10 →
Bo DiddleyBo DiddleyMusicLaphonza ButlerLaphonza ButlerPolitics & LawSamuel C. LancasterSamuel C. LancasterWriting & ArtsDBDanny BrabhamSportsKBKelvin ButlerPolitics & LawSWSammy WilliamsSports
By decade

Magnolia, decade by decade

1910s11 items
Dependent (able-bodied) parents. Family of Robert Barnes, E. 15 Magnolia, Miss. Father works irregularly. 'I supplies p…CommonsDependent (able-bodied) parents. Family of Robert Barnes, E…1911Hughes children. All except two smallest work and help in Magnolia, (Miss.) Cotton Mill. Oldest is fifteen, next is fou…CommonsHughes children. All except two smallest work and help in M…1911Interior of Magnolia (Miss.) Cotton Mills spinning room. See the little ones scattered through the mill. All work. See …CommonsInterior of Magnolia (Miss.) Cotton Mills spinning room. Se…1911Kuyrkendall family, recently from farm. Three children in front row (one ten and one twelve) and one boy not here, work…CommonsKuyrkendall family, recently from farm. Three children in f…1911Lillian Nettles, an eleven year old spinner in Magnolia Cotton Mills, Magnolia, Miss. Her sister said, ' She ain't old …CommonsLillian Nettles, an eleven year old spinner in Magnolia Cot…1911Ollie Hughes (11 years), Ruby Hughes (10 years), Help in Magnolia, (Miss.) Cotton Mills. One about 11 years (sick abed)…CommonsOllie Hughes (11 years), Ruby Hughes (10 years), Help in Ma…1911Workers inCommonsWorkers in1911Interior of Magnolia (Miss.) Cotton Mills spinning room. See the little ones scattered through the mill. All work. See …LOCInterior of Magnolia (Miss.) Cotton Mills spinning room. Se…1911Interior of Magnolia (Miss.) Cotton Mills spinning room. See the little ones scattered through the mill. All work. See …LOCInterior of Magnolia (Miss.) Cotton Mills spinning room. Se…1911Interior of Magnolia (Miss.) Cotton Mills spinning room. See the little ones scattered through the mill. All work. See …LOCInterior of Magnolia (Miss.) Cotton Mills spinning room. Se…1911Interior of Magnolia (Miss) Cotton Mills spinning room. See the little ones scattered through the mill. All work. See a…LOCInterior of Magnolia (Miss) Cotton Mills spinning room. See…1911
1920s–
1990s
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
National Register of Historic Places

16 historic places in Magnolia

Magnolia has 16 listings on the National Register, and they protect 54 historic buildings, because Southtown Historic District alone counts 34.

#16
In Mississippiby listings · most towns there have none
16places listed14 buildings · 2 districts
0National Historic LandmarksNone here yet
54historic buildings protectedcounting each building in a district
1984first listedGeorge Chadwick House · newest: US Post Office-Magnolia, 1993

Where they are

Tap a dot for a photo and link. Districts show at their center.
George Chadwick HouseAnnex, TheBerryhill HouseBuie BuildingCarraway HouseDepotEverette-Gottig-Bilbo HouseHolmes HouseLanier HouseMullendore HouseMyrtle Street Historic DistrictNorwood-TWL BuildingSimmons HouseSouthtown Historic DistrictStogner HouseUS Post Office-Magnolia
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles

From each listing’s National Archives record · 2 of 16 name a style
Queen Anne2
Stick1

When they were listed

The Register began in 1966. Magnolia’s busiest decade was the 1980s.
George Chadwick HouseListed 1984George Chadwick HouseQueen AnneArchitectureListed 1984Annex, TheBuildingCommerceArchitectureListed 1984Berryhill HouseBuildingArchitectureListed 1984Buie BuildingBuildingArchitectureListed 1984Carraway HouseBuildingArchitectureListed 1984DepotQueen Anne · Built 1893TransportationArchitectureListed 1984Everette-Gottig-Bilbo HouseBuildingRecreationArchitectureListed 1984Holmes HouseBuildingArchitectureListed 1984Lanier HouseBuildingArchitectureListed 1984Mullendore HouseBuildingArchitectureListed 1984Myrtle Street Historic DistrictDistrictArchitectureListed 1984Norwood-TWL BuildingBuildingArchitectureListed 1984Simmons HouseBuildingArchitectureListed 1984Southtown Historic DistrictDistrictArchitectureListed 1984Stogner HouseBuildingArchitectureListed 1993US Post Office-MagnoliaBuildingArtArchitecturePolitics
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places (05/22/2026) · styles from the National Archives catalog · photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place

Then & now

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Dependent (able-bodied) parents. Family of Robert Barnes, E. 15 Magnolia, Miss. Father works irregularly. 'I supplies p… (1911) and it appears here side by side.

🔁 Retake this view · +15

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 McComb📜 Summit📜 Osyka📜 Kentwood

From Wikimedia Commons (7), the Library of Congress (4) and the National Register (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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