The story
Read it all →How Ira came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Ira.
Following the Revolutionary War, veteran and historian Lemuel Roberts served as Captain of the Ira militia.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Ira
Ira’s post office opened in 1808, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1895 on and the census since 1790.
1808first post office
0on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Quick answers
How Ira began, and where its name came from
When was Ira founded?
1808
The Ira post office opened in 1808, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 312 in 17902020 census: 368218 years
How did Ira get its name?
Ira was named for Ira Allen, brother of Ethan Allen, who fought with the Green Mountain Boys of the Revolutionary War.
Founding year: the first Ira post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
What stands out about Ira’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 Ira are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18953 editions of the USGS map, 1895 to 1972. Watch Ira change.Boom and bustPeaked at 519 in 1810; 368 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsA post office since 1808: 218 years of Ira.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Ira’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ira’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Ira on the map, 1895 to 1972
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ira. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1895Castleton sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Ira.
People over time
Ira, census by census
Peaked at 519 in 1810; 368 people lived here in 2020.
24 censuses, 1790–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Ira’s Wikipedia page.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Ira, 1882–1926
Passages that mention Ira, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Rutland county, Vermont1882Read the page →
Read the text
place in 1779, looked this region over and finally concluded to settle in what is now the north-east part of the town — it was then in Ira, and they were induced to go there by representations of Isaac Clark, who had located there and had been made town clerk of Ira. Clark represented to them that the village of Ira would be there. The place where
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Rutland county, Vermont1882Read the page →
Read the text
The inhabitants living on the west side of the hill, adjacent to the town of Ira, believing it for their interests, because they could with less travel get to the business centre of Ira than to that of Clarendon, petitioned the legislature, and, in 1854, were set off to and made a part of that town : so, through the cupidity of some, and for the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Ira, Vermont1926 · page 22Read the page →
Read the text
From the time when it had the honor of bearing a name at all, up to the thirty-first day of May, 1779, Ira was called the District of Ira. On that day, at the residence of George Sher¬ man, wherever that may have been at the time, was held the first town meeting of Ira. At that meeting 52 citizens took the freeman’s oath. George Sherman was chosen Moderator; Isaac Clark, Town Clerk; and Nathaniel Mallory, Constable. Nathan Lee, Amos Herick and Isaac Clark were chosen selectmen, and
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History of Ira, Vermont1926 · page 47Read the page →
Read the text
mental in serving legal papers, in both civil and criminal suits, over a longer term of years than Enos C. Fish, late of West Rutland, and late Sheriff of Rutland County. He was elected to the office of First Constable in the town of Ira in 1862, and was continuously on that branch of service for sixty years, as Constable, Deputy Sheriff, and High Sheriff. He was first Sheriff E. C. F'isii Late of West Rutland, Vt., died 1922
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Ira, 1808 to 1900
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Ira, decade by decade
2011
2010
2004
2004Places that used to be
Lost post offices and burying grounds
Ira had its own post office from 1808 to 1900.
Ira
18001910today
1cemetery inside Ira
Riverside
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Ira’s history
What year was Ira founded?
The Ira post office opened in 1808, 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 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.