Indianola’s post office opened in 1884, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 55% of U.S. towns · #47 of 100 in Mississippi. What drives it
Most of Indianola was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 198 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1890.
The Indianola post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Indian Bayou (1874), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 249 in 18902020 census: 9,646142 years
How historic is Indianola?
B−
More historic than 55% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Indianola post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Indianola’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Indianola is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns, #47 of 100 in Mississippi. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Indianola’s overall grade.
Mississippi towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Mississippi town has 71.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Indianola’s 218 sits above most of its state (77% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 198 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Indianola’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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 year, then a sheet.
1900Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
On June 30, 1874 the town was surveyed and on April 14, 1885 an addition was made from the land of G. W. Faison. The population of the town was 1098 in 1900. In 1891, Minnie M. Cox was appointed postmaster of Indianola, becoming the first black female postmaster in the United States. Her rank was raised from fourth class to third class in 1900, and she was appointed to a full four-year term. Cox's position was one of the most respected and lucrative public posts in Indianola, as it served approximately 3,000 patrons and paid $1,100 annually, then a large sum. White resentment to Cox's prestigious position began to grow, and in 1902 some white residents in Indianola drew up a petition requesting Cox's resignation. James K. Vardaman, editor of The Greenwood Commonwealth and a white supremacist, began delivering speeches reproaching the people of Indianola for "tolerating a negro wench as …
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.
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.
Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds
Indianola’s post office has been open since 1884. Another post office, Indian Bayou, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Indian Bayou
1874–1884
Indianola
1884–today
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Indian Bayou ChurchchurchIndianola High SchoolschoolKings Daughters Hospitalhospital
1cemetery inside Indianola
Indianola City
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Indianola’s history
What year was Indianola founded?
The Indianola post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Indianola rank for history?
Indianola is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns, #47 of 100 in Mississippi. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Indianola?
One place: the Indianola Historic District (listed 2009).
How old are the homes in Indianola?
7% of Indianola’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.3 points), against a typical 4.5% for a Mississippi town; the median home was built in 1971.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.
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