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History · Lisman

Lisman’s post office opened in 1912

Most of Lisman was built recently: 0.4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: maps from 1974 on and the census since 1920.

1912first post office
0on the National Register
0.4%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Lisman began

When was Lisman founded?

1912

The Lisman post office opened in 1912, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 521 in 19202020 census: 427114 years
Founding year: the first Lisman post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Lisman’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 Lisman are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 909 in 1960; 427 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lisman’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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People over time

Lisman, census by census

02004006008001,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 909

Peaked at 909 in 1960; 427 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

The story

How Lisman came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lisman.

Read it all →

In 1962, local residents participated in "a federal lawsuit challenging the white Choctaw County registrars who were rejecting 95 percent of black voters’ applications." Martin Luther King visited the town to lead a rally for voting rights on April 30, 1966.

The town incorporated in 1979, which enabled it to pave its dirt roads, and build sewers.

A 2019 article described Mayor Jason Ward's plans to hire a police officer and rebuild the abandoned school library.

Lisman was not included in Choctaw County's new “Opportunity Zones” in 2019.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lisman, 1912 to 1974

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1912Post officeThe Lisman post office opens
  3. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 909
  4. 1974On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.
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On the map

Lisman on the map, 1974 to 1984

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

Lisman on the 1974 USGS mapLisman on the 1984 USGS map1974Lisman sheet · 1:24,000

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Lisman

Nobody well known was born in Lisman itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Hayley WilliamsAmerican singer · b. 1988
Sela WardAmerican actress, author, and producer · b. 1956
Ralph AbernathyAmerican civil rights activist and minister · b. 1926
Antonio McDyessAmerican basketball player · b. 1974
Jimmie RodgersAmerican country singer · b. 1897
F
Fred PhelpsAmerican pastor and activist · b. 1929

Questions about Lisman’s history

What year was Lisman founded?

The Lisman post office opened in 1912, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikipedia, 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.