The story
Read it all →How Osyka came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Osyka.
The community was named after Ossika ("The Eagle"), a Choctaw chieftain.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Osyka
Osyka’s post office opened in 1855, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940
Its Register listing is the Magnolia Manor. Below: maps from 1972 on and the census since 1880.
1855first post office
1on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Quick answers
How Osyka began
When was Osyka founded?
1855
The Osyka post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 542 in 18802020 census: 381171 years
Founding year: the first Osyka post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Osyka’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Osyka’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Osyka’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.People over time
Osyka, census by census
Peaked at 824 in 1910; 381 people lived here in 2020.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Osyka’s Wikipedia page.
Timeline
Osyka, 1855 to 1972
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your albumOn the map
Osyka on the map, 1972 to 1984
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Osyka. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1972Osyka sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Osyka.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Osyka
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
Magnolia Manor
Buildings
Architectural styles listings
Greek Revival1
All 1 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Famous people
See all →3 famous people were born in Osyka
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Questions about Osyka’s history
What year was Osyka founded?
The Osyka post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What is on the National Register in Osyka?
One place: the Magnolia Manor (listed 1983).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 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) 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.