Welcome to Athens ...
Athens is located in Monroe County<1>.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Athens, you might consider that their post office opened in 1830.
Athens is 300 feet [91 m] above sea level.<2>.
Time Zone: Athens lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area Codes for Athens: 662 & 471<3>
Communities Also Named Athens ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 28 communities that are also named Athens - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas (2), Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Athens.
Communities near Athens ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Athens.
- Amory
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Aberdeen
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Nettleton
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nettleton have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nettleton
- Nettleton is located in Monroe County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,896 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nettleton <4>
- Sulligent
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sulligent have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulligent
- Sulligent is located in Lamar County (AL)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,834 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sulligent <4>
- Caledonia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Smithville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Hatley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hatley have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatley
- Hatley is located in Monroe County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 458 people
- Detroit
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Detroit have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Detroit
- Detroit is located in Lamar County (AL)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 221 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Detroit <4>
- Gattman
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gattman have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gattman
- Gattman is located in Monroe County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 89 people
- Greenwood Springs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Athens. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Athens.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Athens. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Athens.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Athens. See our Newspapers Page for Athens.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Athens ...
Looking for more information about Athens? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Athens, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Athens.
Adding Athens to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Athens in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Athens was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>
From that list, the Athens post office opened in 1830. The Athens post office closed in 1873.
For more details, see References and Mentions for Athens.
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Mississippi's counties, including Monroe, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Athens - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <3> | When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 662 code has been Overlayed with the 471 area code. New phone numbers in the Athens area will be assigned with one of these codes: 662 or 471. As a result, placing a call in the Athens area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number). |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <6> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at:
https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |