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History · Ola

Ola’s post office opened in 1880

Most of Ola was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1910.

1880first post office
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Ola’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Ola began

When was Ola founded?

1880

The Ola post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 516 in 19102020 census: 934146 years
Founding year: the first Ola post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Ola’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,281 in 2010; 934 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ola’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewAchmun Creek Bridge, Spanning Achmun Cr…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Ola, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,400192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,281

Peaked at 1,281 in 2010; 934 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story so far

Ola, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Ola yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Ola is a city in Yell County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, Ola had a population of 934. It is roughly 15 miles south of the Russellville Metropolitan area. As of 2004 it serves as a commercial center in Yell County.

Its first post office opened in 1880. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,281 to 934 (-27%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Ola, 1880 to 2010

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880Post officeThe Ola post office opens
  3. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1896Born hereBert Ellison is born here
  5. 21st century
  6. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 1,281
By decade

Ola, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Achmun Creek Bridge, Spanning Achmun Creek at County Road 222Date?Achmun Creek Bridge, Spanning Achmun Creek at County …
Today2 recent
Highway 7 and Highway 10 concurrency in2013Highway 7 and Highway 10 concurrency inDowntown Ola, AR 0012013Downtown Ola, AR 001
On the map

Ola on the map, 1888 to 1972

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

Ola on the 1888 USGS mapOla on the 1972 USGS map1888Dardanelle #4 sheet · 1:62,500

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

Every building

Ola, building by building, 1913

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Ola fire insurance map, 1913, sheet 11913Sheet 1 of 2
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

Achmun Creek Bridge, Spanning Achmun Creek at County Road 222
Retake this viewAchmun Creek Bridge, Spanning Achmun Creek at County Road 222

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

Retake this view · +15

Questions about Ola’s history

What year was Ola founded?

The Ola post office opened in 1880, 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 Wikimedia Commons (2), the Library of Congress (1), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.