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B+History
History · Iola

Iola’s post office opened in 1858, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 68% of U.S. towns. What drives it

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 3 buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1911 on, and the census since 1880.

1858first post office
1on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Iola’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Iola began

When was Iola founded?

1858

The Iola post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 194 in 18802020 census: 1,249168 years

How historic is Iola?

B+

More historic than 68% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Iola post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Iola’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Iola is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Iola’s overall grade.
Founding era1858, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194019.9% of homes (±5.1) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register1 listing, 3 historic buildings, 23.3 per 10,000 residents · typical WI town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 68%
NewerOlder

Wisconsin towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Wisconsin town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Iola’s 23.3 sits above most of its state (84% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

The story so far

Iola, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Iola yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Iola is a village in Waupaca County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,236 at the 2020 census. The village is bordered by the towns of Iola and Scandinavia. The community was named after a Potawatomi princess.

Its first post office opened in 1858. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,301 to 1,249 (-4%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Iola, 1858 to 1998

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858Post officeThe Iola post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1911In the archiveMain St
  5. 1958Born hereDave Krieg is born here
  6. 1971On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1979Born hereTim Polasek is born here
  8. 1998Born hereKristian Welch is born here
By decade

Iola, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s5 items
Main St1911Main StMain St1911Main StAuto club1911Auto clubBuilding roads at Iola, Wis1911Building roads at Iola, WisState st [i.e., Street] parade1911State st [i.e., Street] parade
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today2 recent
J C WIPF Mills2012J C WIPF MillsWIMap-doton-Iola2005WIMap-doton-Iola
On the map

Iola on the map, 1971 to 1984

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

Iola on the 1971 USGS mapIola on the 1984 USGS map1971Iola sheet · 1:24,000

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

Every building

Iola, building by building, 1911

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Iola fire insurance map, 1911, sheet 11911Sheet 1 of 3
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

Main St
Retake this viewMain St, 1911

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Iola

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1987
Wipf, J. & C., Mills
Wipf, J. & C., Mills
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Side Gable1
All 1 listings
Wipf, J. & C., MillsDistrict · listed 1987

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

People over time

Iola, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,40018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,301

Between 194 and 1,301 people in every census since 1880.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Iola

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

See all →
D
Dave KriegAmerican football player · b. 1958
Tim PolasekAmerican football coach · b. 1979
K
Kristian WelchAmerican football linebacker · b. 1998
Help out

Finish Iola’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMain St: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

ScandinaviaIts storyC+

Questions about Iola’s history

What year was Iola founded?

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

How does Iola rank for history?

Iola is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Iola?

One place: the Wipf, J. & C., Mills (listed 1987).

How old are the homes in Iola?

20% of Iola’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1977.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (2), the Library of Congress (5), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.