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History · Viola

Viola’s post office opened in 1858, and 41% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1850.

1858first post office
0on the National Register
41%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Viola’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Viola began

When was Viola founded?

1858

The Viola post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1901.

First census: 1,596 in 18502020 census: 93168 years
Founding year: the first Viola post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1901.The full story ↓

What stands out about Viola’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18934 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1985. Watch Viola change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Viola’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Viola’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewMcDonough-Winton Farmhouse, 142 McDonou…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Viola on the map, 1893 to 1985

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

Viola on the 1893 USGS mapViola on the 1943 USGS mapViola on the 1955 USGS mapViola on the 1985 USGS map1893Mc Minnville sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Viola.

The story

How Viola came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Viola.

Read it all →

Viola was founded in the late 1700s as the settlement of Blue Springs. It was home to one of the earliest churches in Tennessee of the Separate Baptists and several members of the denomination lived there. The settlement formerly named Blue Springs was named Viola with the opening of the first post office on August 23, 1858. The post office was named for Viola, the fictional character in Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night.

Until closing in 1973 the Viola Mill produced the popular regional brand of flour "Viola's Best." This mill was later scrapped and the materials used to build a mill at The Farm.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Viola, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
McDonough-Winton Farmhouse, 142 McDonough RoadDate?McDonough-Winton Farmhouse, 142 McDonough Road
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.

McDonough-Winton Farmhouse, 142 McDonough Road
Retake this viewMcDonough-Winton Farmhouse, 142 McDonough Road

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Viola, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001850190019502000Peak: 1,596

Between 93 and 1,596 people in every census since 1850.

14 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Viola

Nobody well known was born in Viola itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Dinah ShoreAmerican singer and actress · b. 1916
J
John TempletonAmerican-born British stock investor, businessm… · b. 1912
Dustin LynchAmerican singer · b. 1985
Jimmy ClevelandAmerican jazz trombonist · b. 1926
Tom StewartAmerican politician · b. 1892
S
Samuel C. LindRadiation chemist · b. 1879

Questions about Viola’s history

What year was Viola founded?

The Viola post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1901.

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 (1), 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.