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History · Lyon

Lyon’s post office opened in 1885, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1935 on and the census since 1900.

1885first post office
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Chillin662 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Lyon began

When was Lyon founded?

1885

The Lyon post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 166 in 19002020 census: 296141 years
Founding year: the first Lyon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Lyon’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 Lyon are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 446 in 1990; 296 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lyon’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lyon’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

Lyon, census by census

01002003004001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 446

Peaked at 446 in 1990; 296 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story

How Lyon came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lyon.

Read it all →

The town is named after the French city of Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lyon, 1885 to 1990

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1885Post officeThe Lyon post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1989Born hereCharles Mitchell is born here
  6. 1990CensusPopulation peaks at 446
By decade

Lyon, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Welcome To Lyon sign2024Welcome To Lyon signRocket88BluesTrailMarker2018Rocket88BluesTrailMarkerLyonmssign22013Lyonmssign2MSMap-doton-Lyon2007MSMap-doton-Lyon
On the map

Lyon on the map, 1935 to 1967

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

Lyon on the 1935 USGS mapLyon on the 1967 USGS map1935Clarksdale 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 Lyon.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Clarksdale8 historic placesA−

Questions about Lyon’s history

What year was Lyon founded?

The Lyon post office opened in 1885, 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, 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.