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History · Boyle

Boyle’s post office opened in 1893, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1934 on and the census since 1900.

1893first post office
0on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Chillin662 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Boyle began

When was Boyle founded?

1893

The Boyle post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 538 in 19002020 census: 532133 years
Founding year: the first Boyle post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Boyle’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 Boyle are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 888 in 1980; 532 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Boyle’s homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Boyle’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Boyle, census by census

02004006008001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 888

Peaked at 888 in 1980; 532 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story so far

Boyle, in brief

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

Boyle is a town in Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2020 census, Boyle had a population of 532.

Its first post office opened in 1893. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 650 to 532 (-18%).

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

Timeline

Boyle, 1893 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1893Post officeThe Boyle post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1921Born hereWilliam B. Alexander is born here
  5. 1925Born hereJim Pittman is born here
  6. 1934On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 888
By decade

Boyle, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Welcome To Boyle sign2024Welcome To Boyle signWelcomeToBoyleSign2017WelcomeToBoyleSignMSMap-doton-Boyle2007MSMap-doton-Boyle
On the map

Boyle on the map, 1934 to 1966

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

Boyle on the 1934 USGS mapBoyle on the 1940 USGS mapBoyle on the 1966 USGS map1934Cleveland 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 Boyle.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Boyle

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
J
Jim PittmanAmerican football player and coach · b. 1925
William B. AlexanderAmerican politician · b. 1921

Questions about Boyle’s history

What year was Boyle founded?

The Boyle post office opened in 1893, 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 (3), 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) 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.