The story
Read it all →How Staley came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Staley.
The Marley House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Staley
Staley’s post office opened in 1884
Most of Staley was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: maps from 1974 on and the census since 1920.
1884first post office
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Staley began
When was Staley founded?
1884
The Staley post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 157 in 19202020 census: 397142 years
Founding year: the first Staley post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Staley’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 Staley’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Staley’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.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
Staley on the map, 1974 to 1984
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Staley. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1974Liberty 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 Staley.
People over time
Staley, census by census
Grew from 157 people in 1920 to 397 in 2020.
11 censuses, 1920–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Staley’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Staley
Nobody well known was born in Staley itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Questions about Staley’s history
What year was Staley founded?
The Staley post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
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 Wikipedia, 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.