The story
Read it all →How Stella came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Stella.
The township was named for Stella, a character mentioned in works by Jonathan Swift.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Stella
Stella’s post office opened in 1889
Most of Stella was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: maps from 1965 on.
1889first post office
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Stella began
When was Stella founded?
1889
The Stella post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Starks (1913), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 569137 years
Founding year: the first Stella post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Stella’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 Stella’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Stella’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Stella, 1889 to 1965
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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
Stella on the map, 1965 to 1982
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Stella. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1965Starks 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 Stella.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Stella
Nobody well known was born in Stella itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone
Stella had its own post office from 1889 to 1898. Another post office, Starks, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Stella
Starks
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Starks
Gone or out of use
Spur Number 225locale
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 Stella’s history
What year was Stella founded?
The Stella post office opened in 1889, 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, 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.