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History · Viola

Viola’s post office opened in 1856, and 42% of its homes were built before 1940

1856first post office
0on the National Register
42%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Viola began

When was Viola founded?

1856

The Viola post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 676170 years
Founding year: the first Viola post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

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 writtenNo old photos of Viola are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Viola’s homes were built before 1950.
★ 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.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Viola, in brief

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

Viola is a village in Richland (mostly) and Vernon counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 676 at the 2020 census. Of this, 436 were in Richland County, and 240 were in Vernon County.

Its first post office opened in 1856. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 699 to 676 (-3%).

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

Timeline

Viola, 1856 to 1913

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856Post officeThe Viola post office opens
  3. 1887Born hereLaverne Nelson Black is born here
  4. 1890Born hereHenry Benn is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1913Born hereRussel B. Nye is born here
By decade

Viola, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Driftless Area - panoramio - Corey Coyle (1)2016Driftless Area - panoramio - Corey Coyle (1)Viola Community Center2015Viola Community CenterKickapoo High School2015Kickapoo High SchoolViola Wisconsin School House ca19012011Viola Wisconsin School House ca1901Viola Wisconsin MEChurch and Parsonage 19012011Viola Wisconsin MEChurch and Parsonage 1901WIMap-doton-Viola2005WIMap-doton-Viola
Famous people

3 famous people were born in Viola

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

See all →
H
Henry BennAmerican baseball player · b. 1890
L
Laverne Nelson BlackAmerican painter, illustrator, and sculptor · b. 1887
R
Russel B. NyeAmerican academic · b. 1913
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

LibertyIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townForestIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Viola’s history

What year was Viola founded?

The Viola post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.