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Methodist Episcopal Church of Isle La MotteMethodist Episcopal Church of Isle La Motte · Photo: Mfwills · CC BY-SA 3.0
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History · Isle La Motte

Isle La Motte’s post office opened in 1853, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the South Stone School House, the Methodist Episcopal Church of Isle La Motte and the Ira Hill House. Below: maps from 1895 on and the census since 1790.

1853first post office
3on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Isle La Motte began

When was Isle La Motte founded?

1853

The Isle La Motte post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Vineyard (1829) and Fisk (1892), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 47 in 17902020 census: 488173 years
Founding year: the first Isle La Motte post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Isle La Motte’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 Isle La Motte are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1810 and 1960, then more than doubled.On the map since 18955 editions of the USGS map, 1895 to 1956. Watch Isle La Motte change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Isle La Motte.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Isle La Motte’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Isle La Motte’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

Isle La Motte, census by census

010020030040050060018001850190019502000623 in 1810Low: 238

Lost half of its people between 1810 and 1960, then more than doubled.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

On the map

Isle La Motte on the map, 1895 to 1956

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

Isle La Motte on the 1895 USGS mapIsle La Motte on the 1907 USGS mapIsle La Motte on the 1939 USGS mapIsle La Motte on the 1943 USGS mapIsle La Motte on the 1956 USGS map1895Rouse Point 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 Isle La Motte.

The story

How Isle La Motte came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Isle La Motte.

Read it all →

On July 9, 1609, Samuel de Champlain disembarked on the island.

In 1665, the French began building a series of forts along the Richelieu River to protect New France from the Iroquois. From north to south these were Fort Richelieu, Fort Chambly, and Fort Sainte Thérèse.

Four companies of the Carignan-Salières Regiment were sent from Quebec City to extend these forts further south, under Captain Pierre La Motte. They built a trail connecting Fort Sainte Thérèse and Fort Saint-Louis (Chambly).

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Isle La Motte, 1810 to 1928

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1810CensusPopulation peaks at 623
  3. 1829Post officeThe Vineyard post office opens
  4. 1853Born hereHenry W. Hill is born here
  5. 1853Post officeThe Vineyard post office closes
  6. 1853Post officeThe Isle La Motte post office opens
  7. 1854Born hereNelson W. Fisk is born here
  8. 1892Post officeThe Fisk post office opens
  9. 1895On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 20th century
  11. 1928Post officeThe Fisk post office closes
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 album
On the National Register

3 historic places in Isle La Motte

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1997
South Stone School House
South Stone School HouseMethodist Episcopal Church of Isle La MotteIra Hill House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival2
South Stone School HouseBuilding
Methodist Episcopal Church of Isle La MotteGreek Revival
Ira Hill HouseGreek Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Isle La Motte

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Nelson W. FiskAmerican politician · b. 1854
Henry W. HillAmerican politician · b. 1853
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Isle La Motte’s post office has been open since 1853. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Vineyard
1829–1853
Isle La Motte
1853–today
Fisk
1892–1928
18201920today
Gone or out of use
Fisk MansionbuildingIsle La Motte Historical BuildingbuildingSacred Heart Camplocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Isle La Motte
NorthSouth End

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.

Alburgh2 historic placesB+North Hero1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Isle La Motte’s history

What year was Isle La Motte founded?

The Isle La Motte post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Isle La Motte?

Three places: the South Stone School House (listed 1997), the Methodist Episcopal Church of Isle La Motte (2001) and the Ira Hill House (2003).

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 Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.