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History · Ida

Ida’s post office opened in 1897, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1921 on, and the census since 1970.

1897first post office
0on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Ida’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Ida began

When was Ida founded?

1897

The Ida post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 370 in 19702020 census: 217129 years
Founding year: the first Ida post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Ida’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.Old housesHalf of Ida’s homes were built before 1961.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ida’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewIda's Main Street seen in Shreveport Ti…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Ida came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ida.

Read it all →

Settlement of the area likely began after the end of the American Civil War, with the construction of the Munnerlyn Chapel in 1877 and the first school house in 1883. A post office was constructed in 1897 which spurred an increase in population. In 1905, the Ida Methodist Church was built. It continues to serve the community today at 6874 Cedar Lane, despite its bell tower being removed.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Ida, 1897 to 1975

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1897Post officeThe Ida post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1933In the archiveIda's Main Street seen in Shreveport Times on April 19, 1933
  5. 1975On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Ida, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s1 item
Ida's Main Street seen in Shreveport Times on April 19, 19331933Ida's Main Street seen in Shreveport Times on April 1…
1940s–1990snothing yet
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
Today3 recent
Ida, LA, Museum IMG 63382012Ida, LA, Museum IMG 6338Ida Village Hall and Library, Ida, LA IMG 63412012Ida Village Hall and Library, Ida, LA IMG 6341LAMap-doton-Ida2004LAMap-doton-Ida
On the map

Ida on the map in 1975

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ida.

Ida on the 1975 USGS map1975Doddridge 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 Ida.

Every building

Ida, building by building, 1921

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.

Ida fire insurance map, 1921, sheet 11921Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
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.

Ida's Main Street seen in Shreveport Times on April 19, 1933
Retake this viewIda's Main Street seen in Shreveport Times on April 19, 1933, 1933

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Ida, census by census

0100200300400198020002020Peak: 370

Between 217 and 370 people in every census since 1970.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Ida

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

See all →
Scott JoplinAmerican composer, musician, pianist (1867/68-1… · b. 1867
Bessie ColemanAmerican aviator · b. 1892
T-Bone WalkerAmerican blues guitarist, singer, songwriter an… · b. 1910
Conlon NancarrowAmerican composer · b. 1912
John RamboAmerican athletics competitor · b. 1943
Kenny GuinnAmerican politician; 27th Governor of Nevada · b. 1936

Questions about Ida’s history

What year was Ida founded?

The Ida post office opened in 1897, 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 (4), Wikipedia, 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.