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History · Isola

Isola’s post office opened in 1899

Most of Isola was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1940 on, and the census since 1910.

1899first post office
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Isola’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Isola began

When was Isola founded?

1899

The Isola post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 478 in 19102020 census: 638127 years
Founding year: the first Isola post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
The story so far

Isola, in brief

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

Isola is a town in Humphreys County, Mississippi, United States, on the banks of Lake Dawson. As of the 2020 census, Isola had a population of 638.

Its first post office opened in 1899. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 713 to 638 (-11%).

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

Timeline

Isola, 1899 to 1946

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1899Post officeThe Isola post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1935Born hereHank Cochran is born here
  5. 1939In the archiveNew home of tenant purchase client Mr. Crowell near Isola, Mississippi Delta
  6. 1940On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1946Born hereWillie Bailey is born here
By decade

Isola, decade by decade

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

1930s5 items
New home of tenant purchase client Mr. Crowell near Isola, Mississippi Delta1939New home of tenant purchase client Mr. Crowell near I…Livestock belonging to tenant purchase family, white, Crowell. Near Isola, Mississippi Delta1939Livestock belonging to tenant purchase family, white,…Livestock belonging to tenant purchase family, white, Crowell. Near Isola, Mississippi Delta1939Livestock belonging to tenant purchase family, white,…New home of tenant purchase client, white, Mr. Crowell. Near Isola, Mississippi Delta1939New home of tenant purchase client, white, Mr. Crowel…Jersey cows and new barn belonging to Mr. Crowell, tenant purchase client near Isola, Mississippi Delta1939Jersey cows and new barn belonging to Mr. Crowell, te…
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
On the map

Isola on the map, 1940 to 1965

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

Isola on the 1940 USGS mapIsola on the 1965 USGS map1940Baird 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 Isola.

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.

New home of tenant purchase client Mr. Crowell near Isola, Mississippi Delta
Retake this viewNew home of tenant purchase client Mr. Crowell near Isola, Mississippi Delta, 1939

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Isola, census by census

0200400600800192019401960198020002020Peak: 834

Between 449 and 834 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Isola

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

See all →
Hank CochranAmerican country musician · b. 1935
W
Willie BaileyAmerican politician · b. 1946
Help out

Finish Isola’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewNew home of tenant purchase client Mr. …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Isola’s history

What year was Isola founded?

The Isola post office opened in 1899, 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 the Library of Congress (5), 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.